Untangling Knots
by mvngn
Summary: High school is 10% studying, 90% sorting out emotions. So when Percy and Annabeth get tangled up into knots of feelings, they'll have to untangle the mess. AU Full summary inside
1. Moving

**Title: Untangling Knots**

**Why? Because this is just a tangle of emotions that needs to get sorted out. **

**Chapter One: Moving**

**A/N: Thanks again for choosing to read my story. For this one, I decided to go AU. I know lots of stories are about Percy and Annabeth in an AU high school setting, but, well, here's my version. **

**Summary: So the characters are maybe 17-ish; just somewhere in their high school years. It pretty much follows the basics of the series, but in an AU form. You'll see what I mena. Annabeth Chase has to move from Virginia to California and then to New York, constantly being separated from and united with her crush Luke, who is oblivious to her feeligns. Along the way, she meets Thalia, who becomes practically her sister, and Grover. Percy Jackson has been a New Yorker his whole life. The only moving he's done is from school to school. Eventually, he meets Annabeth, the goody-two-shoes know-it-all. Then he meets Rachel, and she seems a little more up his alley. But suddenly, there's something cute about how excited architecture makes Annabeth. And let's not forget his family vacation, where he discovers some little place (the one that girl calls Ogygia) while exploring. Oh yeah, and then there's Luke. Talk about a tangled up knot. **

**Because the books don't give Annabeth's stepmom a name, I'm calling her Helen.**

**So yeah, this is my story. It starts with a sort of prologue.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

Ever since Dad married that lady, everything's always been about her. "Annabeth, what do you want for dinner tonight?" "Pizza sounds good." "Oh, Frederick, I'm in the mood for Chinese food." "Alright, Chinese food it is." "But Dad, can we at least vote or something?" "Annabeth, you like Chinese food, don't you?" "Well yeah but-" "Then it's settled – we're having Chinese. Hand me the phone." Irritates me so much. I live in Virginia. I have all of my friends here; everything I've ever known is here. And of course, there's Luke. He's older than me, but that doesn't matter. He has sandy blond hair and crisp blue eyes that twinkle when he laughs. He's sweet, funny, smart – everything. But of course, when Helen decides she would like to live in California, we all have to obey her wishes and move. I have two little step borthers. They were pretty pumped to go to California, but I sure wasn't. Everything is always about what Helen wants, which is completely unfair. But who knows? Maybe something good will happen.

Percy's POV

"Mr. Jackson," I pulled my attention away form the window to look at my teacher, Mrs. Dodds. She was my algebra teacher; perfect – my least favorite subject taught by my least favorite teacher. I tried to focus on what sh had been saying, but I gave up around the first two minutes of class. I sighed. This was my about my tenth school. It seemed I hated every school I went to more than the last. And yet, I keep getting expelled. Well, maybe if I went to a school I liked, I'd actually try to stay. I zoned Mrs. Dodds out for the last few minutes of class. Not that I was anxious for the bell to ring – I have after-school detention, again. This school was so boring. Nothing good ever happened. There was supposed to be a new kid coming soon. Maybe he or she will be okay.

Chapter 1 Annabeth

"Flight 21A with service to San Fransisco, California . . ." Ugh, this was it – my flight. I sighed. I was leaving everything behind because Helen wanted to live in California. Great going, Dad. Glad to know you've got your priorities straight. It turns out Luke moved away first. I remember that day so clearly, it still hurts.

- Flashback -

"Hey, Annabeth," I felt my face warm as Luke walked over to me. We were at the local park, where we had agreed to meet. I had planned on telling him about my moving, but he beat me to the conversation about leaving. "Listen, Annabeth, there's something I gotta tell you. I'll be straight up honest – you're not gonna like this." Oh no, bad news? About what? Is he dating someone? "I'm moving." I sat there in stunned silence. Then, a tiny spark of hope ignited in me. "I'm moving, too" He smiled. He was thinking the same thing I was. "Really? Where? Maybe we're going to the same place!" I beamed at him. "San Fransisco." His smile faded. "Manhattan. On the opposite side of the country." "I know where Manhattan is, Luke." We sat there in silence. I felt like crying, but I held my tears back. I was not about to cry in front of Luke and look weak. His phone buzzed. He checked and his expression turned grim. "Sorry, Annabeth. My mom. She said I have to get home to pack. But you have my email, and number, and Skyoe – you can email me, call me, text me, Skype me – anything, anytime." He gave me a loose hug and disappeared down the street. Just like that. Like I didn't mean enough to him for him to stay a little longer. As soon as he was gone, the waterworks started. I dabbed my eyes with my sleeve. I should probably go pack, too.

- End Flashback -

Luke had left last week. He hadn't even said a proper goodbye. Am I invisible? I've been giving him hints for the past year, and he hasn't caught on. My friend said maybe he didn't like the idea of dating someone younger than him. If that was true, then I'm gonna die. I lifted the handle of my rolling suitcase and pulled it towards the waiting area. I sat down between my brothers Bobby and Mathew. "Annabeth! Move! I want to sit next to Bobby!" "Yeah, Annabeth! Move your butt from my seat!" I rolled my eyes. "How can this be your seat if you were sitting there?" "I was going to sit there! Mathew was saving that seat for me! Move!" They both started poking me on opposite sides. "Annabeth, Bobby, Mathew-" My dad started but was cut off by Mathew. "Hey, Dad! You should say my name, first! I'm older!" I sighed. "You're twins." "Yeah, but one of us had to come out first. Right, Mom? I was born first?" Mathew turned to his mother, who smiled at me. "It doesn't matter. Annabeth is right – you are twins of the same age." She tried to be motherly with me, but it didn't work. It was gonna take a lot more than fake smiles to fill the space of mother. "But you were already born first! Isn't that enough? So shouldn't I be first with everything else?" Bobby tried to aargue, but I didn't find it a very legitimate argument. Instead of wating around for them to decide who should be called first, I lined up with the other passengers. I felt a hand on my shoulder. "Annabeth, I know you're upset about moving, but this could be a great opportunity for you! And California is a beautiful state, with beaches and spas and malls – all a girl could dream for!" Well, she clearly didn't know what kind of girl I was. Maybe that was great for her, but for me, that's like saying, "Oh Annabeth – let's move to prison!" I ignored her. She continued to try and reason with me, but I ignored her. "Excuse me," I said as smoothly as I could manage, "But I'm going to miss my flight." I brushed past her and walked up to the desk. After we all passed into the plane, we found our seats. I don't like sitting on the aisle and sitting by the window meant thinking about leaving Virginia below, so I sat in the middle. Bobby sat by the window, and Mathew was on my other side. "Hey! I wanna sit in the window seat!" Mathew cried. "No! You can sit there when we fly back!" "We're moving! Who knows when we'll be on a plane again?" "Annabeth move so Mathew can sit next to me!" "Yeah! Move! You don't want to see out the window but I do so move!" They started poking me from both sides and protesting. My dad and Helen had already put headphones on so they didn't hear the noise. Ugh, this was gonna be a long flight.

**A/N: Yeah I know – not that good. But it'll get better when the other characters come in. Besides, this is my first actual story – the others are one-shots so cut me some slack.**

**I'll probably update on Saturdays.**

**R&R**

**- Promise**


	2. Friends    For Now

**Chapter 2: Friends . . . (For Now)**

**A/N: Oh hey guys! Couldn't wait til tomorrow to post so I'm doing it today! Ok, so one thing I saw in my reviews was that I should split up dialogue and make more paragraphs. I went back and looked at my story – you guys are totally right! It was four long run-on paragraphs! How annoying is that? Anyway, I'm gonna work on that for this chapter. I won't change the first chapter just because that was how it was originially and I learned from my mistake. Alright so enough of my jibber-jabber.**

**P.S. To clear up some confusion, Percy is in New York (Manhattan, to be specific)**

**(Forgot to do this in the last chapter):**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO – I could never come up with the ingenious idea that Rick Riordan came up with**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

I tapped my pencil against the side of my desk. I glanced up at the clock. Homeroom started five minutes ago but Mr. Brunner wasn't here yet. That was not like him. I stared out the window then back at the clock, then at the door, then back at the clock. When is this stupid class gonna start?

Finally the door opened. Mr. Brunner wheeled his wheelchair into the room. He was followed by a guy with sandy blond hair and crisp blue eyes. "Good morning class! Sorry I'm late but we have a new student. Please introduce yourself."

The boy beside Mr. Brunner looked up through the strands of hair hanging in his eyes. He surveyed the room before his eyes landed on me. Uh-oh – this can't be good. A guy like him, who is clearly one of those 'I'm so cool and girls follow me around all day screaming my name and sighing' type guys, would only look at someone like me as a target. I immediately stopped tapping my pencil and sat up a little straighter. Don't wanna be irritating – don't wanna look likie I have a bulllseye on my forehead. He looked at me a moment longer before tearing his gaze away and turning to the class.

"Hey, I'm Luke Castellan. I moved here from Virginia – totally psyched to check out the city that never sleeps." **(A/N: I know what you're thinking: I had said that Luke is older than Annabeth yet Percy and Annabeth are the same age so how are Luke and Percy in the same homeroom? They just are. It's called Fan****FICTION**** for a reason – it's not the real book and it's not necessaroily real; for the sake of my story, work with me. K? K.)** Mr. Brunner smiled at Luke. "Well, Luke, why don't you grab the seat next to Percy? Mr. Jacksonn, please raise your hand so Luke knows who you are."

When I raised my hand, Luke smiled and took the seat on my left. On my right, Thalia Grace fidgeted in her chair. I felt her foot nudge my leg across the aisle. I raised an eyebrow at her. '_I know that_ _guy,_' she mouthed. I tilted my head in Luke's direction, and then met her eyes for a silent exchange. We mouthed our conversation.

_Which guy? This guy? The new guy?Luke?_

_No, the guy sitting behind you who we've known since kindergarten! Yes, the new guy! I've seen him before._

_Really? Where? _

_Remember when I visited Virginia?_

_Yeah . . ._

_I saw him and some girl at a park. _

_Oh, wow, you must know him _real_ well, then, huh?_

_I said I _saw_ him, not knew him. _

"Mr. Jackson and Ms. Grace."

Thalia flinched – she hated when people used her last name, and Mr. Brunner knew it, too.

"Is there something you care to share with the rest of us?" I felt my face burn. Thalia and I shook our heads.

"Then I suppose it can wait until after the bell?" We nodded.

"Very well. At least you're showing your affection in an open manner instead of the cliché lovenote." The class snickered. Thalia glared at me, like she was gonna punch me, as if it were my fault. Mr. Brunner looked satisfied with our reactions at his comment. He wheeled around to face the board and continued whatever he was talking about. Thalia nudged my foot one last time. _'We'll talk after class.' _

- After Class –

"Way to go, Jackson," Thalia said, rolling her eys at me as we made our way to our lockers.

"What? How was it my fault? You started the conversation!"

"Whatevs, lil' cuz, just don't do it again." **(A/N: yes, they're cousins.)**

I stared at her indignantly. I was about to protest, but Grover caught up with us.

"Hey, guys!" He made his way over on his crutches. He had some muscular problem with his legs so he always was on crutches, and probably always will be. "Hey, Goat Boy," Thalia smirked. She and I nicknamed him Goat Boy because his crutches against the floor sounded like goat hooves. Plus, the guy will eat _anything._ (Except meat)

Grover pouted. "Will you quit calling me that?" I slung an arm around his shoulders. "Aw, c'mon G-man! It's out of affection!"

"Yeah!" Thalia added, "I love goats!" I glared at her.

"Hey, wait!" We all turned in the direction of the person's voice. Luke came up to us. I looked at Thalia. She shook her head. Luke wouldn't recognize her because he hadn't seen her in Virginia and she wouldn't tell him – it really wouldn't matter.

Luke panted, like he'd run form the other side of the school.

"Percy, right?" he asked me. I nodded.

"Cool. Hey when do you guys have lunch?" Checking his schedule, we saw that we would all have lunch together.

"Can I sit with you guys?" Luke asked.

"Sure, we sit towards the back of the cafeteria – we'll call you over so you know where we are." Luke nodded and headed off, probably to his next class.

Grover knit his eyebrows together. "Who's that?" I shrugged. "Some guy named Luke who moved here from Virginia. He seems pretty chill, but we'll see at lunch."

- Lunch –

Luke turned out to be a cool guy. He was into basketball and football. Thalia spoke up. "Hey, Percy's the captain of the swim team. Maybe you should try out! He does basketball and football, too."

Luke shrugged. "I don't know – I'm not much of a swimmer." I smiled.

"S'okay – I'm not that good at basketball and football!"

"Yeah, Percy has terrible aim! The gods must've been with him when he tried out!' Grover chuckled, but Thalia and I glared at him. Luke looked confused. "The . . . _gods?"_

Thalia sighed. "See, there's this teen club nearby – it's called Club Half-Blood. **(A/N:** **Hee-hee; you like?)** It bases a lot on Greek mythology, which is why lots of people think we're geeky losers. It's supposed to be mysterious, like we don't tell you about it so it stays sort of secret," She glared at Grover, "But that doesn't mean you can't join. Even though technically we're not supposed to, we'll tell you all about it and then if you want, you can join."

Luke smiled. "Cool. Tell me in a moment. But first – why _aren't_ you supposed to tell me?" I smiled.

"Well, only certain people can join – it's special and, like Thals here said, secret. It's exclusive – only the best of the best can join." **(A/N: Get it? 'Cause in the series half-bloods** **can't tell mortals? And typically to get in you have to fight a monster and prove you're good enough for the camp?)**

Grover piped up. "Yeah, you have to do something special to get in. You have to prove yourself, somehow. There's a test you have to pass."

Luke nodded. "So what kind of test is it?"

The three of us exchanged mischievous smiles. "Well . . ."

**A/N: So what'd ya think? Did I do a better job? Anything you want me to change about my format of writing for the next chapter? (Paragraphs, more/less dialogue, shorter/longer chapters, other POVs, etc. I wanna know what my readers like.) I accept constructive criticism. Also, is there anything specific you maybe want to happen? Ideas, anyone? I accept ideas. If I like it, I'll use it. I will give you credit in the beginning, so others know it wans't my own idea. PM me, review – anywhere, just tell me. **

**Note: I WILL NOT use any specific OCs you ask me to use. Please don't submit a character. If I feel it's needed, I'll use my own OC. Well, I might make exceptions, but I don't think so. **

**Constructively criticize me, review, flame – all is welcome. **

**So there's the little blue button at the bottom of your screen – do what ya gotta do. **

**- Promise**


	3. Tears and Memories

**Chapter 3: Memories and Tears**

**A/N: This chapter is a little more Family and Hurt/Comfort genre. Annabeth is a bit OOC. Yeah, in the book, she's pretty distant from her family, but this is more. 'Tears' is in the chapter title for a reason. She's kinda bitter. Sorry, but yeah maybe kinda depressing. And long.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

**Hope you enjoy!**

"Annabeth! Wake up!" I groaned as I heard Bobby's voice practically screaming in my ear. I grabbed the little pillow from behind my head and shoved it into Bobby's face, pushing him back into his seat. "Mom! She's trying to murder me!" Bobby screeched, his voice muffled by the pillow.

I sighed and released my grip on the pillow. I turned over in my seat but Mathew shoved me from the other side. "Annabeth! We're landing! We'll be there soon! Mom said to start getting your stuff together!" I ignored him and closed my eyes. Helen was not my mother. If he had said that _his_ mom had told me to put my things together, maybe I would've listened. But not like this because she is not 'Mom' to me.

I heard my dad sigh. "Annabeth, please listen to your mother. Do as she told you."

"_Step_mother." I murmured through gritted teeth.

"Excuse me?"

"Helen is my _step_mother, thank you very much." I avoided eye contact and packed up the book and headphones I had taken out of my bag. Again, I felt Helen reach out to touch my shoulder but again, I brushed her off, walking down the aisle of the plane. I could already feel the tears brimming at my eyes. This was always a sore subject for me. I never really knew my mom and after she left, I never knew what happened to her. I pressed my forehead against the cool wall of the little tunnel thing that leads from the inside of the airplane to the inside of the airport. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

_Calm down, Annabeth. This isn't the time for flashbacks._

Just when I started to relax, I felt a small hand slip into mine. "Annabeth?" Mathew looked up at me with big, gentle eyes. He was the more sensitive of the twins. Somehow, even though our occasional fighting, I really bonded with my brothers, especially Mathew. Somehow, even though he had his mother, he could understand the hurt I felt when my mother was mentioned. He wiped the tears from my face and gave me a hug. I felt better until my dad, Bobby, and Helen came over. Bobby turned a bit white.

"Annabeth! Are you okay?" He looked concerned, so I reached out to ruffle his hair. "Yeah," I managed, "I'm fine." Helen didn't look convinced and my dad seemed a little fazed, but they didn't say anything. I finished drying my eyes. We continued to walk, in search of the rack with our luggage.

As Dad and the boys watched for our luggage and pulled the suitcases off one by one as they came along, Helen pulled me aside. This lady was trying too hard and it was starting to get on my nerves.

"Annabeth, I'm sorry for bringing up your mother. I just-"

"It's fine," I tried to walk away, but she grabbed my wrist.

"No, it's not. Annabeth, I'm not trying to replace your mother. I just want you to trust me, to be able to comfide in me like you could with your mother. I know you never truly knew her, and you have no clue what happened to her-"

I couldn't take it anymore. Memories came flooding back like a river flowing thorugh a broken dam. What she just said opened my mind to the past. I felt like I was gonna have an emotional breakdown.

"I need to use the restroom," I whispered as tears streamed down my face. I ducked my head so no one would see me crying. I pulled my wrist away from Helen's grip and swiftly made my way to the bathroom. I locked myself in a stall and let the tears and memories flow.

**A/N: What follows in **_italics_** is a series of memories, third-person narration.**

- Memory 1 -

_ "Annabeth! I'm home!" A beautiful young woman strode into her home. She had curly dark hair and startling gray eyes. "Mommy!"A sweet little girl ran out to meet her mother. The woman scooped her daughter into her arms and cradled her. "Where's Daddy?" The little girl pointed to the kitchen. The woman put her daughter down and walked into the kitchen._

"_You're late." The woman sighed, the smile melting from her face. "Frederick," The woman said as smoothly and coolly as she could manage, "I told you I was working late tonight." The man huffed._

"_Athena, you said you would be home by 8:00 o'clock. It is 9:30. If you were going to work later than what you thought you should have called to tell me."_

_The woman pursed her lips. "I suppose I got carried away. You know how excited I was to work on this specific project. Time slipped away."_

_The man rose and so did his voice. "You don't completely forget your husband and daughter over a _blueprint_. But I suppose you can forget a person over another person . . ."_

_The woman's jaw dropped. "What are you accusing me of?"_

"_You know very well." And with that, the man turned on his heel, about to leave._

"_You know what? If this is how it's going to be, I don't want to continue."_

_Now the man turned back around. "What are you saying?"_

_Her eyes darkened. "You know very well."_

_The man's expression tightened. "I think that would be adequate."_

"_We will further discuss this in the morning and make a final decision. But for now, don't say anything to Annabeth."_

"_Why not? She should now if her parents will no longer be together."_

_The woman wrinkled her nose. "If we do split, then we'll tell her. If we don't then we won't say a word."_

_The man suddenly looked very angry. "You always want everything to be your way! I always have to do what you say! Aren't I the master of this house?"_

_The woman looked indignant. "I plan things out carefully so everything will work out. I don't order you around. I only suggest to you what to do so everything will be in the best interest. I am a strategist and you know that."_

_The man stepped dangerously close to the woman. "I don't think it was in anyone's best interest to get married, and I don't think you planned it out very well for us to have a daughter."_

_Now, the woman's face turned red with anger. "Don't speak that way about Annabeth! Leave her out of this – it doesn't concern her! She is the only good that has come of this! And why wait until tomorrow? We'll settle this now. We're over! I want divorce!"_

_The man's face paled. He reached out to touch the woman. "I'm sorry Athena – I didn't mean it! I just-"_

"_No! You never mean it but you always say it! I'm tired of you telling me that I order you around! I'm tired of you accusing me of cheating on you when I forget to call! I'm sick and tired of our relationship! We're divorcing and I'm leaving!"_

_The color returned to the man's face. "I'm not happy with our relationship either. But what about Annabeth?"_

"_Well, if you think I didn't plan it well enough when I decided to have a child with you, I guess I will take her with me."_

"_I disagree. We should go to court and decide there. One week with you, one week with me." _

"_No. we work this out ourselves, right now."_

"_There you go again! Always telling me what to do! You know what? Maybe I should just leave!"_

"_You know what? I'm done trying with you! I'm just leaving right now!"_

_And with that, the woman packed her things and left. Just like that. Little did they know that the little girl had been listening. She saw all of the ugly fighting, and after hearing it, she wouldn't be the same. Her father tried the next day to explain to her that Mommy and Daddy wouldn't be living together anymore, but that everything would be okay. He didn't know that the girl had heard the argument and known that it wasn't just a separation, but the breakage of a family. Her father didn't know how to tell her – he needed the woman's good sense of words. But it was too late. After the woman left that night, neither the little girl nor her father saw her ever again . . . until . . ._

**A/N: Little cliffie! Remember this part . . . it'll be important later in the story . . . wink-wink**

- Memory 2 –

"_I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." The man smiled. He reached over and kissed the lady softly on her lips. Cheers erupted from the few guests attending the wedding. The little girl, who was now a little older, watched the scene unfold – she was the only one who wasn't cheering. In fact, as she saw her father and the lady walk down the aisle, her small heart hurt. He had looked just like that once before, but holding a different hand. She had seen a picture of her mommy and daddy from their wedding day. What happened? What if the exact same thing happened again? She wouldn't be able to take it a second time. _

_Besides, this lady wasn't a mother. She had tried too hard to get the little girl to like her. She sugar-coated the little girl and spoiled her, but the little girl didn't need presents – she needed a mother. _Her_ mother. And this lady just wasn't her. _

_The lady tried to befriend the little girl. She thought that if she made friends with the little girl, then the man would like her more. She didn't make friends, but the man still married her – he was too lovesick to realize that his daughter wasn't happy._

_The lovesickness continued, too. During the wedding, the little girl had folded herself into a corner and cried. It wasn't until just before leaving, after the two-hour reception that the man realized his only daughter was missing. They searched the entire ballroom. Some people even went back to the church, until finally they found her in her corner. Her flower girl basket was gone. She had pulled the bobby pins from her hair, messing it up. Her shoes were strewn aside and her dress was dirty. Her face was stained with tears. But the man just called his friend over to take the girl home. She would care for the girl while he and his new wife were on their honeymoon. _

_The little girl was sad, even after the wedding. She may have been smarter than most seven year olds, but that didn't mean that she didn't feel the same way. She just couldn't understand why everything had changed, why her parents couldn't work anything out at all so now her mother was completely out of her life – she just didn't understand why suddenly she didn't seem to matter to anyone anymore. _

- End Memories –

**A/N: Annabeth, first-person narration**

I dabbed my eyes. I heard the door of the bathroom open. Someone walked in, went to the sink, turned it on, turned it off, and left the bathroom. Weird. After my crying stopped and my breathing returned to a normal pace, I stepped out of the stall. I studied my face in the mirror. Red, puffy, wet – ewwww. I washed my face with cool water and dried it off. I checked my purse and made a face. I don't wear make-up, but Helen tended to sneak stuff in there. For once, I was thankful. I pulled out the blush and lightly powdered my face. I did my eyes up a bit and put everything back.

Once I looked somewhere close to normal, I walked out of the bathroom. I overheard the last of a conversation.

"-all my fault," Helen was saying.

"No," my dad assured her, "It wasn't."

"But it was! If I hadn't mentioned her mother . . . I swear, she's in there sobbing."

They were talking about me. Time to clear stuff up and play this off coolly.

"Hey," I said, as casually as I could manage, "Ready to go home?"

Helen opened her mouth to say something, probably _'Sorry'_, but my dad put a hand on her arm to stop her.

"Yes, we have everything. Let's go see our home." He smiled at me. "I think you'll like it – it's one of your favorite architectural structures."

**A/N: Sad? Yes. Angsty? Yeah, probably. Depressing? Maybe a little. Sorry, I know it was kinda depressing, but I needed this in there. I promise this family stuff gets handled. Yes, the genres are Romance and Humor, but there's family stuff, too. I mean, it is called Untangling **_**Knots**_**, not just one knot. Besides, Annabeth starts trusting Percy when she tells him about her family and he helps her, in The Lightning Thief, so this chapter is key ot their friendship developing. It gets happier, too. I promise. (Hey it's in my name.)**

**R&R (or flame)**

**- Promise**


	4. Welcome to Club HalfBlood

**Chapter 4: Welcome to Club Half-Blood**

_**Little Note: To anyone who might've already read this chapter – normally I wouldn't do this but there were so many mistakes I felt compelled to fix them. I was typing fast yesterday so I could post and I was in the dark and I can't type without looking at my fingers (sad, I know) but now I'm fixing it. **_

**A/N: So how's it so far? Sorry, this chapter isn't as good as I hoped, but I was trying ot cram to post today. So sorry if it's not that great. On the bright side, it's happier than the last chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

**Hope you enjoy!**

"Alright, Luke," I started, "This is how it works. The club is mostly virtual. The test is this intense obstacle course. It's fun but hard."

Luke cracked a smile. "Really? An _obstacle course_?"

"Yeah, but like I said, the club is virtual. The obstacle course is like a video game. Actually, practically the whole thing is one giant video game."

"So what do you have to do?"

"You gotta have 'battles' and win 'em all," Thalia said, "The controller is in the shape of a sword. You also get a shield. There's this clip thing that you wear to connect yourself to the virtual games. You have to fight monsters from Greek mythology."

"Wow that sounds really cool!"

It was Grover's turn to speak. "It is. You also take a personality quiz. That'll determine who your 'godly parent' is."

"Godly parent?"

"Yup," Thalia said, "Members can be one of two things: you're either a demigod or a nature spirit."

"What are you guys?"

"I'm a demigod, the son of Poseidon," I said, "But it's a little bit of a bummer because so far, nobody else has gotten Poseidon so I'm by myself."

"Oh shut it, Jackson," Thalia said sharply, "I'm on my own, too, but you don't hear me whining!" She faced Luke, "I'm the daughter of Zeus, and it's cool 'cause I'm, like, the most powerful demigod."

I rolled my eres. "I may whine about being alone but at least I don't brag about ir."

Thalia was about to protest but Grover spoke up. "I'm not a demigod – I'm a nature spirit, a satyr."

"Which makes sense," Thalia said, "A fat, lazy kid who has a muscular problem and likes to play reed pipes."

"I am not fat, I am not lazy, and the muscular problem is not my fault."

Luke chuckled. "What else?"

I thought for a minute. "There's a lot we have to explain, but I think it'll be better if we just go and show you."

Luke grinned. "So this Friday?"

We all nodded our agreement. "This Friday."

- That Friday –

"Here we go!" Thalia screamed. She pumped her fists in the air. "Whoo-hoo!" Her hair was whipping around in the wind.

Luke had volunteered to drive us in his red Convertible. The top was open and the cool New York breeze wasn't too hot or too cold – it was perfect. **(A/N: 'What? Luke drives now? And a** **red Convertible?' Just go with it.)** "That's it," I say, motioning to the parking lot.

Luke parked his car. We all got out. Thalia, Grover and I were wearing our club T-shirts, necklaces, and membership cards. We had also had a key on a landyard around our neck. When we walked through the doors, all that could be seen was a small lobby, painted white, with a fake green tree in the middle. A golden carpet-like 'ram's fleece' hung from one of the branches. It read, "Club Half-Blood" in sparkly letters. The only other thing in the room was a desk. Behind the desk stood a man. He had several tattoos on his body, which resembled the scales of a dragon. There was nothing on the desk except a spare keycard.

Thalia strode up to the desk. "Hey, Pelius," she said to the man. He grunted in response. Pelius never really said anything. He just sort of stood there, guarding. At least that's what I've been told he's supposed to do. He held out his hand. Grover, Thalia, and I showed him our membership cards. He nodded, then pointed at Luke, raising an eyebrow.

"He wants to join, so we're gonna take him to Chiron," I said. Pelius nodded and let us pass. We went to the tree in the middle of the room. There was a door, but you couldn't see it because the fleece concealed it. It was heavy metal that was hanging with the help of machinery. Thalia swiped her card in the little slot. With the whirring of gears, the fleece slid out of its place and the door underneath it opened.

Luke stared at it in awe. Thalia grinned, and then motioned for him to follow her inside. We descended the set of spiraling srairs. Because it was Friday night, lots of club members were wandering around, playing the games and betting money on who would win.

"So . . ." Luke started as he watched the commotion. I grinned. "First, Thalia, Grover, and I need to check in. Then, we have to take you to Chiron; he's the supervisor. You also have to meet Mr. D., the owner, and Argus, the security guard."

"Yeah," Thalia chimed, "He's the guy who makes sure no one takes their controller and whacks you upside the head." I glared at her.

Luke followed us through the groups of people. "Hey yo, Jackson!" I whirled around and came face to face with Clarisse LaRue. I smiled at her. "What do you want?"

Clarisse made a face. "After you're done with your little _friend_," she snarled, nodding at Luke, "It's you and me – we're not done rematching."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever – I'll battle you as long as you're not tired of losing." Clarisse was this big girl with stringy brown hair and angry eyes. She picks on just about everyone in the club. I remember when I first got here she tried to dunk my head in a . . . never mind; I don't wanna talk about it.

Anyway, we had a battle last week, and I won. She hates losing, so she's gonaa kep trying to rematch me until she wins. It's not gonna happen, but I battle her anyway – hey, the more matches I win, the better. It's a fairly easy win, too.

I kept moving through the club with my friends following. Grover caught up with another girl, Juniper. She was also a nature spirit, though she was a tree nymoh. Her hair was a caramel color and her eyes were a shimmering green. It was obvious they liked each other, but neither seemed to want to admit it. The two of them hung out all the time, though.

We found Chiron's office. His name was actually John Brunner **(A/N: I had to make up the first** **name but the last is from The Lightning Thief)**, but he used the Greek centaur Chiron's name in the club. He happened to be the same Mr. Brunner who was our homeroom teacher and taught Latin at school, but we'd let Luke find that out for himself.

I knocked on the door and walked in. "Chiron, we have someone who wants to join the club." Chiron looked up from his laptop. "Hello, I'm-" he faltered, studying Luke, then smiled. "Welcome, Luke. Have you been having any trouble conjugating the Latin verbs I assigned for homework?" Luke's mouth dropped open.

"Mr. Brunner? You own this place?" Chiron smiled. "No – I don't see why I would want to own a teen club where at night I'll have to put up with the same students I put up with in the day. I just needed this job. I'm the supervisor."

Luke nodded, still wide-eyed. "Well," Chiron said, "If you want to join, you'll have to go through the process."

I grinned at Luke. "Let's get started."

First, Thalia and I had to check in. We walked up to one of the many check-in points. Thalia and I swiped our membership cards. They activated and registered us in – once you're activated, your scores are kept. We then went to get our controllers. Thalia and Luke followed me to the rooms.

The top floor of the club was a designated area of dorm-like places to reside in for those who spend the summer. Just before the rooms, there were rows of lockers. I went to where the Poseidon dorms were and swiped my card in the slot of one of the lockers. I pulled out my sword, which I named Riptide, and my shield. I locked up my locker and went to find Thalia.

She had already gotten her own sword and shield, which we get with membership and can personalize. We then went to find the section of the club for newcomers.

Thalia and I helped Luke get registered. Once he was registered, he got a temporary card. I showed Luke the testing room. "Okay, Luke," I said, "Go in there and win! Instructions will be inside." Luke nodded and walked in.

**- Luke's POV - **

I took the card, swiped it, and entered the game room. It was dark so I couldn't really see. I did see Percy close the door. There was a small glass window next to the door. Percy watched me, until Thalia yanked him away.

I turned back to the wall in front of me. I felt around for a card slot. I was able to swipe my card. The gamescreen lit up, startling me. I picked up the sword controller and shield. I clipped on the thingies that I needed in order to connect myself to the game. I then pressed the START button.

It was epic. The room dimmed even more than how it was. In fromt of me, an alley formed on the screen. I heard growling. A huge monster-something-or-other was trampling out of the alleyway. My eyes widened. I swung the sword, making a wild slash for the monster. It roared.

I made a deep gash in its chest. Hacking the sword, I managed to reduce it to dust. A score flashed in front of me, but I didn't have time to read it. I thought it was over, but another level flashed in front of me. This time, I saw a hill. At the top was a pine tree, which also had a golden fleece just like the entrance. Another rmonster popped up. With a lot of rolling and ducking, I managed to kill it, too. I crossed the hill and behind the tree. Fireworks exploded, and the screen flashed CONGRATS GAME OVER before shutting off. The door opened.

"Congrats, dude!" Percy exclaimed, grinning. Thalia laughed. "Yeah, that was great! Let's go check out your score!" She pulled my card from the slot. We went back to where they had checked in. Thalia pushed my card into the slot. A number popped up next to my name. "Wow!" Percy exclaimed, 'That's awesome!" Thalia nodded. "That's enough to pass! Now that you have a passing score, you just need a personality quiz to decide what you are."

Thalia clicked the screen a few times before letting me take control. I tapped answers to the questions. My eyes hurt form all the flashing lights, but I figured I would get used to it. After the twentieth question, a loading symbol showed up. Finally, a name popped up in Ancient Greek.

Percy and Thalia crowded around me, reading the name. "Hermes! It's Hermes! You're a son of Hermes!" They both patted me on the back. Thalia clicked a button. "Let's print this and go get your membership card from Mr. D.!"

We raced back to the wing of offices where we found Chiron. I still couldn't believe he was my teacher at school, but if he worked at a club, then he had to be pretty cool.

We walked into the office. A man wearing a leopard-print shirt and purple running shorts was playing pinochle with Chiron. "Ah, Peter Johnson," the man said lazily. He looked up with blood-shot eyes. I stared at him. Percy sighed. "It's Percy. This is Luke and he needs his membership card – he passed the test." Mr. D. rolled his eyes but didn't say anything. Percy huffed.

"Mr. D., come on, don't be like that." Still, Mr. D. didn't respond. He set a card down and took a long sip from a can of Diet Coke. Percy strode over and grabbed the can. "Luke. Needs. His. Card." Mr. D. rose.

"I am not going to tolerate it tonight, Mr. Johnson." Percy stood his ground.

"Give us the card, and I'll give you the can." Sighing loudly, Mr. D. took the sheet of printed scores and quiz results form Thalia and scanned it into his computer.

After a few minutes, he handed me a laminated card. "You will be officially claimed later tonight and get your controllers once you are claimed," he said in a bored voice. Percy rolled his eyes and motioned for me to follow him outside.

"Yeah, he doesn't like me," he said once we were outside. "I figured," I responded. Thalia grinned at me.

"Well, Luke," she said, examining my card and handing it back, "Welcome to Club Half-Blood!"

**A/N: I know, I know – pretty bad chapter. I had a little writer's block, trying to figure out how I wanted this club thing to go. I know I'm cutting you off with a lot of cliffies, but this chapter was getting a litte too long and not good. I also wanted to post today, on Saturday, like I said I would. So sorry, maybe to make up for it I'll post a chapter tomorrow. I could use some encouraging reviews, favories, and alerts subscriptions. Suggestions are welcome.**

**But even if you flame – hey, can't blame you. And at least I'll now you're reading!**

**So go ahead. **

**- Promise**


	5. Friends Forever?

**Chapter 5: Friends Forever?**

**A/N: Yeah, yeah, I know – it's been forever, what happened to updates on Saturdays… cut me some slack. I've been really busy and hit a serious writer's block with the story. So, a little help and reviews/Alert subscriptions would be nice :) Oh, and so you know – this chapter is also a little sad, but that's towards the end. Plus, it's between Annabeth and Luke, not Percy, so it's not so bad.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

It had been two weeks since the move. Eventually, I would have to start school. I might've looked forward to it, since being stuck at home was pretty boring, but I was pretty nervous. On top of that, Luke refused to respond to me.

I tried my hardest not to contact him every second of the day because I didn't want to seem desperate, but I was desperate. When I did get around to it, he never replied to me. I sent him text messages, emails, missed phone calls, IMs, but he didn't reply to any of them. It was pretty depressing, but I tried not to think about the possibilities – he couldn't have forgotten me already. Or worse – found a girlfriend to spend all his time with.

I sighed and pulled myself off of the bed. Since school was in session but I wasn't enrolled yet, I was cooped up at home. I had to take walks or whatever by myself and couldn't meet anyone since everyone was in school. Besides, it was a month into school – everyone already made friends. Why would they turn to look at me? I decided to go down to the park to just clear my mind. I grabbed my sketchpad and a pencil and headed out the door.

Once I reached the park, I looked for a spot to sit. I passed an elderly lady, who gave me a distasteful look. Being at the park on a school day probably didn't send her a good feeling about me. Besides, the small sketchpad I had tucked under my sweater could've resembled anything – who knows what she thought I was doing here. I found a tree and sat under it. I opened my sketchpad to a new page and started drawing.

As I worked, I felt someone looking down at me. Glancing up, I saw a boy staring at me – not creepy at all. He appeared to be about my age, and resembled me fairly well – blonde hair, gray eyes, a distracted look. He could've been my brother (**A/N: remember that – it might be** **important cough-cough).** He even had a sketchpad of his own.

"Hi," he said casually, like he walked up to complete strangers and stared at them for who knows how long every day, "You're new aren't you? What's your name? I'm Malcolm."

"Annabeth," I answer, sticking out my hand. He responds with a firm shake. There's an awkward pause before he continues. "How come you're not at school? Are you not enrolled yet?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not – why aren't you at school?" He shrugs. "It's my break day."

I raise my eyebrows. "Break day?"

"Yup. See, I'm ADHD and dyslexic – once a week, I take a break to clear my mind, you know, so my brain doesn't burst from all the pressure." **(A/N: Lemme just clear this up – I highly doubt** **schools actually do this.)**

"Oh," I fall silent, "I'm sorry I asked."

He smiled and sat next to me. "No, it's cool. So whatcha drawin' there?"

I suddenly felt shy. "Oh, um, I'm not drawing. I'm sketching. Well, designing – I-I hope to be an architect." I felt my cheeks flush red. He raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Me, too! Everyone thinks I'm weird for it or that it has something to do with my learning disabilities, but, but the truth is, my mom was an architect. And I want to be like her."

I let that sink in. "She, _was_ an architect?"

Malcolm exhaled. "She left when I was about eleven."

I nodded, but there was something about it that seemed so familiar... then it hit me. "My mom was an architect, too, and that's why I want to be an architect. She left when I was seven."

Malolm nodded slowly. "The worst part is, I don't know why she left. She just did."

I knew why my mother left, but I decided it was best not to tell him. "So," I said with a sunny smile, so as not to upset my new friend, "What do you sketch?"

His eyes lit up with a fresh happiness, "Oh, I really like Greek architecture, so I spend my time designing Greek buildings. Well, I'm trying to bring back Greek architecture to the modern world."

I beam at him. This is something I know about. "Me, too! Let's see what you got!"

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, but I ignored it – I finally made a friend. Whoever it was could wait.

Luke's POV

"Dude!" Percy congratulated me, screaming to be heard over the blaring music.

I laughed. "Me? That was nothing – what you did? Insane!"

We both laughed again. It had been a fun night at Club Half-Blood. We played games and went to the food court. Thalia had said there was still so much to show me, but for now, I could just play and worry about it later. So that's what I did.

Later, we decided we should head home. We got into the car and I dropped everyone off. That's when I noticed the time.

"11:30?" Thalia glanced over at me from her spot in the passenger seat. She was the last person I had to drop off. "Have you never been out this late?"

"Of course I have," I answered, slightly offended at her remark that suggested I was too little for this kind of thing, "I just hadn't realized what time it was."

"Mmm. Hey, who's Annabeth?"

"What?" She had caught me completely off guard.

Thalia smirked. She looked up from what I had thought was her phone but was actually mine. "You have three emails, eight missed calls plus five voice messages, and 12 texts – sounds to me that this Annabeth chick is desperate to get a hold of you."

I grabbed the phone from her hand. "Stop nosing around! Where's your house?" A sly smile spread across her lips. "Here is fine."

I scowled but unlocked the door. I watched as she disappeared a little further down the street.

I headed home. I then checked my phone.

Most of Annabeth's messages were somewhere along the lines of, "Hey, I miss you, I haven't been able to make any friends because they're all snooty girls who only care about shopping and tanning, where did you disappear to, I'd really like to talk to you so I don't feel so lonely." I instantly felt bad. Here I was, these past two weeks, hanging out with my new friends, and getting my membership to Club Half-Blood, while poor Annabeth was alone and I had completely ignored her. I glanced at the clock – if it was 11:45 here, it would be only 8:45 in California, which means Annabeth is still awake.

I dialed her number as fast as I could. It ringed a few times before I heard her voicemail. Weird – Annabeth always answers at the first few tones. I tried again.

"H-hello?" Annabeth sounded distracted, like she does when I call while she's designing. "Hey, Annaebth," I say.

"Hmm? Who is this?" she trails off for a minute. "Oh! Hey, Luke! I'm sorry, I was, I was just… umm… designing, and… I got … umm, carried away…" She paused and I chuckled.

"Alright, well, Earth to Annabeth, just for a few minutes?"

"Yeah, sure…" another moment before I could hear that she was fully with me, "What's up?"

"Well, I got all your messages… I'm so sorry I'm just getting to you."

"It's fine," But I could hear how hard she was trying for me not to hear the upsetness in her voice.

"So I guess you made friends pretty fast, huh?" There was a tinge of emotion in her tone.

"Um, yeah, I made a few friends."

"That's… good."

There was a pause, before I tried again.

"What about you? Made any friends?"

"Um, one. I'm at his house right now."

"Oh," _His_ house? I don't know why, but it bothered me, knowing Annabeth was hanging out with another boy who wasn't me, "Oh – am I interrupting something?"

"No, no – it's cool. He's cool with it. So, um, what are your friends like?"

I told her about Percy, Grover, and Thalia and how we became instant friends and now I was a member of the most exclusive club. She listened, with an occasional 'Uh-huh'. It then dawned on me how much it hurt her. I made friends so quickly and was having so much fun already – she just made a friend and was struggling. I was hanging out at a club – she was at this guy's house. I was having the time of my life – until she met her friend, which she said was today, she had been absolutely miserable. I hadn't even bothered to call her to see how she was doing. I forgot about her. Annabeth was always there for me when I needed her most, but now, that she needed me most, I wasn't there for her. I haven't even let her say much this whole conversation. I felt like a complete jerk.

"So what about your friend?" I hadn't even given her a chance to tell me his name.

"Oh, his name is Malcolm. He likes architecture."

"Oh, cool. Do you guys hang out a lot?"

"I just met him this morning." There was slight irritation in her voice. I realized she was upset that I'd forgotten – she already told me she just met him today. She must've thought I wasn't listening to her.

"Right, right. Anything else?"

"No, not really."

"So then why did you try so hard to reach me?"

As soon as I said it, I knew I made a huge mistake. It came out sounding annoyed. Her voice quivered as she spoke.

"Because I thought you knew and cared."

"Knew and cared about what?" Now I sounded clueless and unsensitive. _Idiot._

"That I was completely alone."

The line went dead. But I heard one thing before she hung up – a squeak. The same squeak she makes right before she breaks down and starts crying.

**A/N: A little sad, maybe, but like I've mentioned many a time, this story has a happy ending. Everything works out, I promise. So, a review would be nice. Check out my other stories, check out my poll (details on my profile, at the end of my story Don't Mess With Annabeth) and ideas are always welcome, whether it be for new stories or add-ons to old ones! I'm actually thinking about adding another chapter to The Awkward Moment, so if you haven't checked it out, please do, and ideas for another chapter would really help!**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	6. Girl Stuff

**Chapter 6: Girl Stuff**

**A/N: Yeah, I don't have much to say but…**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

I was so upset. He_ forgot_ me. Bottom line – he forgot me. I was sitting in Malcolm's bedroom, on his spinny chair at his desk, all but sobbing.

We had come from the park a few hours later, about the time school let out. We walked to his house, talking the whole way, stopping once to get a quick bite to eat. I got Luke's call at 8:47, and I was still at Malcolm's house then. He was like me – completely lost track of time when it came to architecture. I called my parents so they knew where I was. I told them I'd be home before dinner, but ended up sharing it with Malcolm's family. He was an only child, so his house was a peaceful place to work. He put on soft, classical music – the type of stuff I listen to when I work – and brought out all sorts of pencils and papers. We closed the door and probably designed a whole city. Then I got the call.

Afterward, I was a mess. Malcolm did his best to calm me down, but it must have been hard. Not only was I a new friend, I was a new _girl_ friend. **(A/N: No, stupid Spellcheck, I don't mean a** **girlfriend, I mean a friend that's a girl, duh**.) It must have been awkward for him.

"What happened?"

I wasn't sure why, but looking into his eyes, deep with concern even though he'd only known me for a few hours, I was able to tell him. I told him how Luke really had been my only true friend. How we both moved to opposite sides of the country and promised to keep in touch. How he promised I could contact him at any time that I needed him, and how, when I needed him, he forgot about me. I'd been lonely here, and he didn't seem to care.

Malclm listened intently. He then did something I wasn't really expecting. He hugged me. A real, friendly, comforting hug. I hugged him back, leaning into him, and felt better.

"I'm sorry I broke down like that."

Malcolm smiled softly. "It's okay – it's better to let your feelings out then bottle them up inside."

I dabbed my eyes. "Yeah, thanks for… everything."

"Hey," he said, "That's what friends are for."

With a final hug, I headed home. I knew I really had found a true friend.

JJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJJ (**A/N: Why? Cuz I can – deal :P)**

"I'm home!" I called.

My brothers ran up. _"Oooooohhhh!_ Annabeth's got a _boyfriend!"_

"_What?"_

My father stepped forward, looking alarmed.

I rolled my eyes. "Malcolm is-" I started.

"Oh! You have a boyfriend already? See? I told you the boys would like you!"

My stepmom came out of nowhere.

I stared at her. I don't remember her ever telling me that.

I huffed. "He's not my boyfriend! I just met him today and he's a friend. He's into architecture and we have lots of other stuff in common – that's all."

My brothers didn't look convinced; my stepmom looked disappointed; my dad looked relieved.

"Fine, then, can we meet him?" Mathew asked.

I shrugged. "I guess, if you want."

"Is he into video games?" Bobby asked.

"I doubt it."

"Aw, he's a _nerd_, like _you."_

"Excuse me? I am not a nerd! I am a highly educated, well-skilled, confident young self-advocate, fully intending and determined to achieve high goals in life and prosper among the blossoming branches of the tree of success!"

"What?"

"Never mind." Guess I'll just save that for my valedictorian speech.

"So, when can we meet him?" Helen sounded really eager, like she was asking to meet my fiancé or something.

My dad clenched his jaw. I decided now would be a good time to bring up Malcolm's family background.

"Dad, Malcolm's dad is a historian and archaeologist. He recently did work in Greece and wrote a book about the American Revolution."

Instantly, my dad's eyes lightened up. I caught Helen mouth, '_Well played.'_

Dad started going off about how much of a great opportunity it woud be for them to meet.

"Is he an only child?"

"Yes."

"Well, Frederick, you'll have something to talk about. Who I want to meet is his mother – a little girl talk!"

I wrinkled my nose at her comment. That is not the kind of thing she should be saying, at her age.

"His mom abandoned him when he was eleven – just picked up and left. He has no clue why and his dad never told him."

I felt the atmosphere change. I knew what was on everyone's mom – his story was similar to ours.

"Well," Helen said, trying to lighten the mood. "I'm sure they would both very much enjoy a nice homemade picnic!"

WWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW

Percy's POV

Having Luke around was great. He was cool and funny, and just a great friend. Lately, though, he seemed to be acting a little different. He checked his phone really often, as if waiting for something. I figured it was home sickness, but asked just to make sure he was okay.

"Luke? You seem kinda tense these few weeks. You okay?"

Luke exhaled. We were alone in Central Park, just walking. We took a detour into a secluded area of trees and flowers and sat under the shade of a tree.

"Yeah, it's just – well, there's this girl-"

"Ah, that's what this is about."

He blushed. "Yeah, she was, like, my best friend and we did everything together. Then, I moved here and she moved to California. I met you guys – she didn't make any friends until just recently.I promised her she could call me whenever if she needed a friend, and I kinda forgot about her. Now I feel bad – last time I talked to her, I made her cry. I haven't spoken to her since – she doesn't make any efforts to communicate."

I nodded. He seemed to have it tough, but I figured I couldn't really say anything to make it better.

"And the funny thing is, she mentioned that her friend is a boy, and that just…"

"Bothers you?"

He bit his lip.

"Yeah. I don't know why. It shouldn't – there wasn't anything romantic between us."

"Hmm." I don't have any experience with this kind of thing, so I wasn't sure what to say.

"Sounds to me like maybe there was a thing between you two – you just didn't realize it."

Luke looked at me. "You think?"

"Dude, she cried. What did she say to you just before that?"

He thought for a minuse. "She said she thought I knew and cared that she was lonely."

"Yeah, I think she had feelings for you. I don't think she meant friend lonely."

Luke put his head in his hands. "Shoot. Shoot, shoot, shoot. Now what do I do? She has this other guy, Malcolm – what if they have a thing now?"

I shook my head. "I don't know – I've never been in this situation before."

"Lucky you."

"Hey," I put my hand on his shoulder, "You'll figure it out! 'No knot is too tangled to untie'. I believe that was Gerald Washington who said that when he sang his 'I Have a Dream' song in Kentucky."

Luke stared at me.

"The guy's name was George Washington."

"Whatever."

"He was the first president; and 'I Have a Dream was speech… by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr."

"_Whatever."_

""And I'm pretty sure it wasn't in Kentuck… and it had nothing to do with knots."

"_Whatever!"_

'Luke smiled. "Thanks, Perce, I feel better now."

"That's what I'm here for.

**A/N: Yeah, short, but what do you think?"**

**R&R**

**- Promise**


	7. Trying to Sort Things Out

**Chapter 7: (Trying to) Sort Things Out**

**A/N: I'm soooooo sorry for not updating! I've had some serious writer's block with this story. Plus I was getting a lot of feedback for The Awkward Moment and was eager to write that. For those of you who read it – I'm not done with it – not by a long shot! It's just, I've had so many good ideas, I want to get them all written and posted before asking for new ideas so I don't have too many at a time. I wanted to update this, too. So be on that look out for that update. Read it if you haven't already! Please…**

**Anyway**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

I stared at the blinking icon on my screen. I had been working on a report for school (finally I've started and fortunately Malcolm was at school for my fisrt day) when I decided to sign onto my email. The little icon for a chat was blinking. Someone whose user name I didn't recognize was requesting a chat.

With a sigh, I clicked the icon.

**(A/N: funky font is the chat; wiseowl927 is Annabeth; **_italics_** is Annabeth's thoughts)**

sonofhermes456: annabeth? its luke

_Oh no. Oh well – I've ignored him long enough._

wiseowl927: what do you want?

sonofhermes456: to say hi… and sorry

wiseowl927: *sighs* i dont wanna talk about this

sonofhermes456: well i do – annabeth im sorry! i really didnt mean 2!

wiseowl927: well u did

sonofhermes456: i no – im sorry

wiseowl927: its fine i guess

sonofhermes456: thx can we talk now? like good old times? like frends?

wiseowl927: i guess… whyd u change ur username?

sonofhermes456: oh… ummmm… about that

**wiseowl927: …?**

**sonofhermes456: well… see…. these friends I have…**

wiseowl972: yeah?

sonofhermes456: um itd be easier if i said itverbally… skype?

wiseowl927: sure

_-_ _Skype_ _–_

"So what are your new friends like?"

I still felt a little twinge in my heart when he mentioned his new friends. Luke was sitting in what must've been bedroom. I could see posters of skateboards and rockstars – I'd never seen them before. As far as I knew, Luke wasn't into those things. His room was an electric blue, a color I had never known Luke liked. His room was a mess, with clothes strewn all over the place, the bed unmade, and a skateboard lying around. He was dressed in black skinny jeans, a T-shirt, an open button-down with the sleeves rolled up, and Converse. When I knew Luke in Virginia, he wore khakis and polos. His hair had been neat – now it was a little darker and a disheveled heap on his head. It had gotten longer. It was almost like I was meeting him all over again.

"Well, there's this club here in New York – it's called Club Half-Blood and-"

He paused, uncertain.

"And it's really cool. We… play games and stuff."

"So why is your username son of Hermes 927?'

"Uh, just a thing we have."

"Oh, ok…"

Luke's POV

Shoot. Shoot, shoot, shoot. I almost spilled my biggest secret to Annabeth.

I had been video chatting her and she had asked about my friends. I was about to tell her all about Club Half-Blood until I remembered that it was secret. Sighing, I went into the bathroom.

I stared into the mirror. I saw something unfamiliar.

I dressed differently now – like Percy and all his skateboarder friends. I stopped styling my hair into that college-boy style and left it free-growing – like Percy's. I exchanged my dress shoes for Converse and checkerboard patterned shoes – like Percy's. My room was decked with posters of skateboarders and rockstars – like Percy's room. My room was even the same color as his. It wasn't the light green like my old room. My bookshelves had been rid of their various books about politics and world affairs and replaced with comic books and ancient Greek mythology. I learned to skateboard.

I realized just how much I had changed. I noticed how similar I had become to Percy. It wasn't a bad thing – he was a cool guy. But I could see why Annabeth looked freaked out when she saw me.

She hadn't changed. Her room was still neat and organized. It was the same light purple as her old room. Awards, pictures, blueprints, and a few posters of famous philosophers and architects were plastered on her walls. She dressed the same – casually professional. Polos, blazers, and slacks were her typical outfit.

We seemed to have grown so apart. It bothered me. But I didn't dwell on that too much – I was meeting my friends for pizza then heading over to the Club. Maybe spending time with them would help me feel better.

…

"Ay! Castellan!" Percy called. I grasped his hand.

"What's up, Jackson?"

"You're here early."

"So are you."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "I was hoping to talk before the others got here."

Percy arched an eyebrow as he sat across me from in the booth. "About?"

"My friend Annabeht."

"What happened this time?"

"I don't know – everything just seems so… off. Like we don't know each other anymore."

"Well, it's kinda hard when your best friend moves to New York, makes immediate friends, and is living the life while you're sitting at home doing nothing," he flipped his hair in the way that drove girls insane, "Did I mention that one of those immediate friends is incredibly awesome and," he tossed is head, leaning back into the seat, "Handsome?"

"Thanks, Perce, I totally feel better," I muttered.

"Glad I could help."

"Seriously, now what do I do?"

"No clue."

I was about to say something else when I heard the voices of my other friends.

"Hey! Guess what?" Thalia exclaimed, sliding into the seat next to me.

"What?" I asked, a little half-heartedly.

"We're going on vacation!" Grover grinned.

"Wait, you and Thalia are going on vacation together?"

"Sorta," Thalia interjected, "We both happen to be going ot California. Whoo-hoo!"

"For how long?" Percy asked.

"Practically the whole summer! We won't really see you guys, but, it's California!"

Percy nodded, "I might be going away, too."

"Over the summer?" I asked, "But then I'll be alone!"

Percy smiled, "Maybe. But maybe not until winter break."

I nodded. When Grover and Thalia mentioned California, I thought of Annabeth. But I didn't say anything – I didn't want them to worry about my friendship.

"Sounds fun," I said instead.

**A/N: I know, I know – short and not my best. But I wanted to update. Oh, and I had to make Percy's vacation in winter break instead of summer like his little 'detour' in BotL because it made sense with my timing. Get excited! Thalia and Griver are meeting someone special in California! Rachel is coming into the picture soon! And so is that girl from the island in my summary – I bet you can guess who, though.**

**Anyway…**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	8. Friendly Faces

**Chapter 8: Friendly Faces**

**A/N: Ok. I know you're mad, and probably don't wanna hear it, but I'm gonna say it anyway – I'm sorry. I know, it's been forever. But… this past year has been rough for me. Heavy school workload, emotional turmoil, mild depression… oh, and writer's block, big time. But, I realized, that retreating from my writing wasn't helping. So, I'm back. I've outlined the whole rest of the story, so I can't claim I have writer's block anymore. I mean, I can't guarantee a weekly update because I still have to actually write the chapters, but now I know where I'm going. I'm aiming for a weekly update – just bear with me. The story should finish up by the end of the summer. Yay! So don't worry, I shouldn't disappear anymore. **

**Oh, and a special thanks – this chapter is especially dedicated to someone:**

**erinwritesfanfics**

**Thank you for your review, coincidentally, a year after my last update. It wasn't a flame, or anything, it was… nice to hear. And so I went back and read my story – and the rest of the story poured out. I guess it's not exactly how I was originally going to write it – I mean it's the same plotline and the same general events, just differently. **

**So, erinwritesfanfics, this one's for you! That reminds me, I have to update The Awkward Moment…**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Luke's POV

"Hahahahaha! I've got you now!"

"Not so fast!" I lunged.

Percy's voice came over the headset.

"Surrender, Castellan!"

"Never!"

Our swords clashed. I could hear the ring of our blades meeting over the sound speakers in the room.

_Clang!_

"Whoo-hoo! Go, Luke!" I heard Thalia scream.

"Hey!" I took Percy's distraction as an advantage and struck his chest.

"Oomf!"

_GAME OVER_ flashed across my screen, _WINNER: LUKE._

"Yeah, Luke!" The doors to my side of the makeshift arena opened. My friends flooded in, congratulating me. My screen retreated upward, revealing a large window. Through the window, I could see Percy taking off his headset and hanging it up. He removed the clip that connected him to the game. I knocked on the glass.

His eyes shot up to me. He raised his eyebrows quizzically. I pushed the button to open the door that would connect our rooms. Percy stepped in.  
>"You know," I said, "You would've beaten me if you hadn't gotten distracted."<p>

Percy was a cool guy. He was also the best (electronic) swordsman Club Half-Blood had ever seen. So when I came in and started beating him every now and then, as cool as he was, and as little it seemed to bother him, I knew it had to sting. It would sting for me, too, if some new guy fresh off a plane from Virginia came into my domain and just beat me, first try, no experience. So I tried to make him feel better. After all, I didn't always win. He beat me most of the time. But I was getting better. And beating him only two or three times was enough to set off the other kids.

He smiled. "You would've won, anyway."

It was a genuine smile. I knew Percy didn't have hard feelings. It was nice that he didn't resent me, but rather used the fact that I was as good as he was to improve. He was definitely my best friend… in New York.

I still think about Annabeth. I haven't talked to her in forever. Maybe I'd get home early and I could call her. I felt the need to check on her, just to make sure she was okay, maybe because I'd already forgotten her once and I didn't want it to happen again.

"Hey, you alright?" Percy asked. 'I blinked. "Yeah, why?"

He shrugged. "You look a little down… how's Annabeth?"

I sighed. "I don't even know."

"Talk to her. If she isn't calling you, you call her."  
>But if she isn't calling me, she doesn't want to talk to me. What if she doesn't even pick up?"<p>

"Call her. Even if she doesn't pick up, it'll remind her you care and haven't forgotten her again."

I nodded. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I'll call her later."

Percy grinned. "Great. But for now, don't worry about it – I want a rematch."

…

I trained with a few different people. Actual battles were set up in a very similar way to the test you take to get into the club. It was a giant video game. You wore a headset to communicate with the person you battle with. You aren't actually in the same rom as the other person; you see them on a screen. The screen stands out in a sort of holographic, life-size image, so your blade will actually be 'touching' the other blade or person. Whenever your blade touches the image, the person you're fighting can feel what you've done through their armor if you have touched them, or the sword if you hit the sword. The armor is special that way. It wouldn't hurt the other person, but they'd know they've been hit, a little bit like how your suit would vibrate when you play laser tag and get hit. The walls of the room are made of glass, so anyone walking by can see you. Once you strike a person ten times, you win. You wear this clip on your clothing so your scores, victories, and losses all get recorded.

I've made a lot of friends at the club. I met my 'siblings' (other children of Hermes) as well as kids from other locker rooms. That's how the club is divided – whoever your parent is, there is a section where lockers are set up as well as cabin-like housing for over-the-summer camps and sleep-away programs the club hosts for members. It was really cool.

Right now, I decided to try my luck with Clarisse, a girl from the Ares room. She was big and strong, and kind of intimidating, but I wanted to battle her anyway.

After a few minutes, she won. She stuck her tongue out at me through the glass and disappeared. Slightly baffled, I walked over to Connor and Travis Stoll, two mischievous brothers (actual brothers) in my room.

"Aw, don't feel bad, Castellan – no one's beaten her… you know, except, Percy." Connor tried to cheer me up.

"Yeah, and even he had a hard time," Travis interjected.

"Has he beat everyone here?"

"Yup. That's how he got his award for "Best Swordsman' last summer," Connor answered.

"He's like Hercules," Travis added, "Except he isn't famous."

"What are you morons up to?" Katie Gardner, a girl from Demeter, was suspiciously eyeing the brothers. They particularly liked using Katie as a lab rat for new pranks. Her eyes fell one me and she smiled.

"Hey, Luke."

"Hey, Katie."

"Whatcha doing hanging around this pair of goons?"

"Keeping them out of trouble, naturally."

Travis frowned. "Goons?"

Katie ignored him. "Good. It's about time someone with some sense came into that room and-"

"Katie!" Two boys were running up to Katie. The younger one was Nico. He was a cousin of Percy and Thalia. He was rather pale, which sharply contrasted his dark hair and clothing. Behind him came Will. He was a blue-eyed blonde Apollo, known for his great musical talent, impeccable archery skills, and gift in medicine and healing.  
>"What is it?"<p>

"One of your sisters got hurt. You should come see."

Katie nodded quickly.

"Bye, Luke." She started to walk away.

"Hey! What are we, a bundle of wheat?" Travis protested.

Katie glared at him. "No, I like wheat."

He smiled and wiggled his eyebrows.

"How 'bout you put one right here?" He tapped his cheek.

Katie leaned forward slightly, as if she was actually going to kiss him, before punching him in the jaw.

"Ah!"

"You might have to come back in a minute, Will," Katie said, surveying the damage. She then left with Will and Nico at her heels.

I helped Travis to the infirmary. Club Half-Blood was a lot of fun.

Annabeth's POV

I clutched my stomach. It hurt from all the laughing.

"Kids? Are you hungry?"

Malcolm's dad poked his head through the door.

Malcolm looked at me. I smiled.

"I can eat."

I've been spending every day after school with Malcolm. My excuse was homework. It wasn't a lie, since we did do our homework together, but I would stay a bit longer after that. Sometimes, I got carried away and lost track of time; Malcolm's dad wouldn't say anything, just call my parents and say I was staying for dinner.

Over these past few months, Malcolm and I have really bonded. He was a great friend. We shared a lot of interests, but enough differences to make our friendship unique. He listened whenever I needed to talk and he was a lot of fun to be around. My parents loved him. Malcolm has been over my house for dinner many times. My brothers liked him, too, even though he was 'a nerd'. Overall, Malcolm was the best thing that had happened to me since moving to San Francisco. I had other friends at school, but none of them were as close as Malcolm. He was definitely my best friend… here in Frisco.

I still thought about Luke. I probably should've called him, but I got carried away with hanging out Malcolm. It made me feel bad – just because Luke had accidentally forgotten about me didn't me I had the right to do the same. When I get home, if it isn't too late, maybe I'll call him.

**A/N: And there it is. So, what'd you think? Still interested in this story? If not, that's understandable. So, we see a little more of the club, we see Annabeth and Malcolm really getting close – that was the main purpose of this chapter. This is mostly a filler chapter because I need more time to pass before we can keep moving to the plot. Also, I figured it was a good time to bring some other clubbers in, as well as emphasize the developing friendship between Annabeth and Malcolm. **

**Alright, I'm gonna go work on the next chapter. My apologies, again. But please…**

**R&R!**

**- Promise **


	9. A True Friend

**Chapter 9: A True Friend Reaches For Your Hand But Touches Your Heart**

**A/N: Hello! I was gonna wait a little longer to post, but then I thought, what the heck? Thank you for your reviews, Alert/Favorite subscriptions, etc. Wow, it feels good to be back. Okay, to clear up some confusion, yes, this is a Percabeth story. I mean, I know I've got a lot going on with Luke and Annabeth, and believe me, Percy's going to have a mess of his own to deal with, but in the end, I don't think it's too big a spoiler to say this is a Percabeth story. **

**Alright, I think that's all I have to say, so…**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

"I know, I know. Yeah, I'll be home for dinner. Olay. Sure. Oh my goodness, Helen, I'm not six! I _know_!"

I hung up. Malcolm looked over from his desk.

"Everything alright?"

I sighed. It was another lazy Friday afternoon at Malcolm's house. Today, Helen was having someone over for dinner. She had made a friend at the nail salon and invited her over to meet the family. I was expected to be home for dinner tonight – no excuses. This was the fifth time she'd called me. She also reminded me to stop by the bakery and pick up a cake. She was after me like I was a little kid.

"Helen doesn't trust me to remember anything."

Malcolm shrugged. "Well, you forget to go home on time sometimes, and this dinner is really important to her. She just wants to make sure you'll be home."

"But does she have to be on top of me about everything?"

"She's just looking out for you."

"She needs to stop pretending to be my mom."  
>Malcolm looked away. "At least you have someone."<p>

I looked at him, and he heaved a sigh.

"Annabeth, have you ever lived without someone to be a mother figure to you?"

"Helen isn't a mother figure to me."

"Just answer my question!"

His anger took me by surprise. Malcolm was a very calm person. But I answered truthfully.

"Only a few months, from when my mom left to when Helen showed up."

He looked over at me. "I lived thirteen years with just my dad. Do you know how hard that is? I mean, he's great, but…" He looked away.

"You don't have to tell me."

"My dad told me that my mom only stayed a year after I was born, so I never really got to meet her. Then, when I was eight, suddenly, she was there again. I got to meet her. And the next three years were the best of my life. I had a family – a normal family, like all the kids at school, with a mom and a dad, and I was hoping for a little brother or sister. But then those three years ended and she left again. Just like that. I haven't seen her since."

He paused. He turned away, but I saw him brush away a tear. I gently put a hand on his. He turned to me. His eye were so full of pain, I had to hug him.

"M-maybe if I'd never met her… well, I was used to living without a mom. So if she had never come, I might've been okay. But she did come. I got to know what it's like to live with my mom. And then she left me again. It's horrible."

Malcolm looked at me.

"Annabeth, will you do me a favor?"

""Of course, anything."

"I can't make you love Helen. No one can force that – not even you. But… appreciate her. Appreciate everything she does for you. She means well, and I think that's worth a thank you every now and then."

I thought about his request. He had a point. I've been very rebellious. My mom left me, but that wasn't Helen's fault, so she didn't deserve my bitterness. My dad, despite the nasty fight before the divorce, had the right to be happy.

"Will you do it?"

"Definitely. Thanks, Malcolm."

Thank you, too, Annabeth, for being a true friend."

"You're very welcome. Now, I should get going."

…

Dinner went smoothly. Afterwards, I went to my room to work on a project for school, but I couldn't concentrate. It wasn't just the ADHD, though. I couldn't stop thinking about Malcolm. What his mother had done to him was awful. She'd teased him, in a way; leaving, coming back, disappearing again.

There was a knock on my door.

"Come in."

"Annabeth?" Helen peered in.

I felt slightly annoyed, but I remembered what I'd told Malcolm and shoved the feeling down.

"Hey, Helen. What is it?" I kept my voice as pleasant as possible.

"You seemed a little upset at dinner. Is everything alright? Did something happen at Malcolm's"

I hesitated, then motioned for her to come in. She seemed surprised, but sat on my bed.

"Malcolm told me about his mom." I told Helen what Malcolm told me.

"Oh, dear, that is awfully upsetting."

"Helen?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm sorry." "

"For what?"

"For… everything." I swallowed. Apologizing wasn't easy for me. Dad says I have Mom's pride. "I'm sorry for being so rude to you and treating you so poorly. I honestly didn't meant to, I just.."

"Oh, Annabeth. You don't have to apologize. I know how you feel. I had a stepmom, too, you know."

"Really?"

"Yes. And I was awful to her. But I was mad at my father for leaving my mother, and I took it out on her. I assume that's what you're doing, so no hard feelings. I know."

"It still isn't excusable."

She smiled. "I think I can let it slide."

I smiled back, but it faded. "It's just…"

"What is it?"

"Well, my parents had a nasty divorce. It wasn't just that they decided to split up. They had some bad fights. And the worst is, they did it when they thought I wasn't listening, but I heard their argument, right before they divorced."

I told her about that night.

"Please don't tell my dad – he doesn't know that I know."

Helen pursed her lips. "I won't, but maybe you should talk to him about this. He should know that he really did hurt you, fighting so bad, and that it wasn't very smart of him to start dating so soon after."

I wiped my eyes.

"Annabeth, just know that I'm not trying to replace your mother, because I never could. My stepmom tried very hard, and she certainly never succeeded. But I want us to be friends; I want you to confide in me like you could a mother. Do you think we can do that?"

"I think that can be arranged."

She hugged me. It was a new sensation, hugging Helen.

"Great."

"Thanks, Helen."

"For?"

"For being a true friend."

**A/N: Awwwww. Short, yes, but very important. That part about Malcolm's mom? That's very important later. It'll matter. The Helen thing… honestly, I just needed a little more to fill the chapter, but, it is important in the sense that Annabeth is sorting out her feelings (the story's called Untangling Knots – all the knots aren't necessarily just romantic.)**

**So, yeah. That's all for now, folks! (Haha, who remembers Porky Pig?)**

**R&R!**


	10. A Shark Tooth Necklace

**Chapter 10: A Shark Tooth Necklace**

**A/N: Hey! Okay, so quick note before we start – in the books, Luke gave Annabeth his dagger with a promise. Remember? Well, here, obviously, he wouldn't give her a dagger. So, I've replaced that with a shark tooth necklace, like those people make when they catch a shark or whatever? I could've used a bracelet or ring, but in the series, the dagger belonged to Luke. I figured a shark tooth necklace is something he might have; at least I think he's more likely to have that versus a ring or bracelet. I chose a shark tooth necklace also because I figured it's as close to a dagger as I can get with a normal modern-day child's item (you don't give your kid a knife) – it's pointy-ish and triangle-shaped-ish. So, yeah. **

**P.S. I have no idea if 'botanical sciences' is an actual course you can take at school, but we're going to pretend it is. **

**Disclaimer: Haha, I read this disclaimer and thought it was cute:**

**I don't own Percy Jackson. Annabeth Chase does. ;)**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Luke's POV

Friday. 7:30 A.M. I'd only been in school for five minutes and I was already tired and ready to go home.

Ugh. I need coffee.

Thalia, who was sitting to my left, looked just as exhausted. It had been a long week. The teachers seemed to have all agreed to pile on the tests, so my friends and I had spent the last few nights studying over the phone. I had suggested this to my friends, and I was surprised they had actually agreed. They just didn't seem like the studying type, but I guess I was wrong.

Today, my last test, biology, was first period. Thalia and I studied so hard last night that I think we overexerted our brains to the point that we could barely keep our heads up. It was probably a bad move, staying up until two in the morning, but hopefully it paid off.

"Alright, class, clear your desks. Get out a pencil, and let's begin." Mr. White passed out the test.

I looked it over.

_Which of the following describes __**hypertonic diffusion?**_

_Water entering a cell due to high levels of sodium inside of it_

_Water leaving a cell due to high levels of sodium outside of it_

_Water entering a cell due to high levels of potassium inside of it_

_Water leaving a cell due to high levels of potassium outside of it_

Fortunately, Thalia and I had covered this. With a few minutes left of class, I finished the test.

The bell rang and Thalia and I made our way to our next classes. We would discuss the test during lunch.

…

"Ugh, my brain.." Percy was already at our usual lunch table, clutching his head, "It can't take it anymore!"

"What test did you have today?" Grover asked.

"English. I'm almost 99.99% sure I failed."

"Well," Thalia interjected, "I'm almost 99.9% sure Luke and I passed our bio test." She reached across the table for a high-five.

"English is hard!"

"Your stepdad teaches it! You could've gotten extra help so easily, right at home!"

"Yeah, school and home shouldn't mix. Anyway, what did you have today, Grover?"

Grover munched on a tortilla chip thoughtfully. "I haven't taken my test yet; it's next period. But I have it in botanical sciences."

"So, what, you have to plant a pretty flower?"

"No," Grover looked offended. "It's a written test. We have to-"

"Oh, I know," Thalia said, "You have to _draw_ a pretty flower."

"No! We-"

"Guys," I scowled at them, "Don't be dumb; he said it's a written test."

"Thank you!"

"He has to _write_ about a pretty flower! Duh!"

We cracked up and suggested different titles for a potential poem.

"Ode to Sunflowers."

"Lilacs in the Breeze."

"No, no, I know!" Thalia exclaimed, "You should ask to do an interpretive dance for your test – Skipping Through a Field of Dandelions!"

She stood, as if about to demonstrate, but sat back down.

"Sorry, Goat Boy, I won't choreograph for you but I'll hook you up with music, a set, and a costume!"

We were all laughing, except for Grover.

"You guys are terrible."

I smiled. "Alright, alright, I think we're done. So, summer's coming! Any plans?"

"California! Whoo-hoo!" Thalia was clearly excited.

"And I'm going, too. What about you, Perce?" Grover turned to Percy.

"Aren't you going on vacation, too?" Thalia asked.

"Wait," I said, "I thought you said that would be during winter break?"

Percy sighed. "Well, my parents wanted to go this summer. Then they decided to go during winter break of this coming school year. Now, they've changed the date one last time. Because of something at my mom's job, we're going during spring break."

"Spring break already passed," Grover commented.

Percy rolled his eyes. "Spring break of _next_ school year, Grover."

"Oh."

"What about you, Luke?"

"I'm staying here in New York. But since Percy's staying here-"

"Maybe we can help out with summer programs at the club."

That sounded like a pretty good idea, so I agreed. "We can talk to Chiron when we go to the club later."

"Cool."

…

"Castellan! We gonna race or what?" Connor came up to me. Last week, he bet me a cheeseburger from the pavilion (this place had a cafeteria in the shape of an ancient Greek pavilion with amazing food) that I couldn't beat him in a race. I won. He was upset because he was really hungry and didn't have money on him. He had to 'borrow' (*cough-steal-couh-cough*) money from his brother, Travis.

Food was the only thing we paid for here. Percy, Thalia, and Nico had powerful dads who had big companies (and were also brothers). They made huge donations and were dubbed 'The Big Three' because they were the club's biggest sponsors. How they could donate so much money to keep the club running with little cost to the players but rarely sent child support checks to the cousins' mothers was beyond me. They hardly saw their kids – funding the club was sort of their way of making up for never really being with their children.

I turned to Connor. "Sure, whatever you want. But let's do it quick – I'm hungry and Will challenged me to an archery contest."

I beat Connor again. He was so confident he'd win this time that, once again, he didn't bring any money. I watched as he reached for Travis's wallet in his backpack. Travis was distracted by talking to Katie.

"So Katie, how was your day?"

"Get lost, Stoll."

"Oh, but Katie, Katie, dear, how can I leave without knowing how your day was?"

"Let me help you out." Katie took him by the shoulders turned him to face the door, and shoved him, hard. He stumbled forward but before he could get his footing, he fell face-first.

"Oomf!"

Katie brushed off her hands and strode out of the room. In that moment that Travis was on the ground, Connor, great brother that he was, took the opportunity to grab three dollars out of the wallet, stuff it back into Travis's backpack, and drag me out of the room.

"Shouldn't we help Travis?"

"He'll be fine."

"I think I saw blood running down his forehead."

"He's bled before. He won't die."

We settled down at the cafeteria. Connor went to get my food.

"Hey, Luke," Percy sat down across from me with a slice of pizza, "'Sup?"

"Connor's getting me a cheeseburger."

Percy raised an eyebrow. "A _Stoll _is buying you a cheeseburger?"

"Yeah. Why is that surprising?"

"A Stoll never buys anyone dinner – or any meal, for that matter. Why do you think they can't ever keep a girlfriend?"

Connor came back. He had a tray with my food and a milkshake.

"Dude! You got me a shake, too? Thanks!"

"Hey!" Connor batted my hand away, "Who says that's yours?"

"But you only took three dollars. How did you buy the shake?"

"I bought it with my own money."

"I thought you didn't have any money on you. That's why you took it from Travis."

"Oh, no, I have money, just not money I'm willing to spend on you. So I spent Travis's money."

Percy smiled at me. "Now that makes sense. I told you – Stolls don't spend money on other people."

Connor grinned. "That's right."

"Hey, Percy." I looked up. A girl stood behind Percy. She was gorgeous. She was tall and lean, with a slender body. Glossy, dark hair framed an immaculate face. Her features were beautiful. She smiled a bright, white smile. I could tell right away she was classified as 'rich and popular'.

"Hey, Silena – what's up?"

She beamed at him in response, then turned to Connor. "Hi, Connor."

"H-hi, S-ilena!" Connor squeaked, staring open-mouthed at the girl.

She smirked, clearly pleased with his reaction to her. Then, she looked at me. She studied me carefully with her heavily made-up eyes, arching a slender, perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Luke, right?"

I simply nodded.

"I've seen you around here and school."

She sat down next to me, a little closer than I thought was necessary.

"You go to Goode?"

"Mm-hmm," she purred, leaning towards me slightly, "Captain of the cheerleading squad."

"Oh, I haven't seen you – I… haven't… been to any games… yet."

_Smooth. _

She laughed. "S'okay – no problem. Hey, there's a game next week. Why don't you come? I'd love for you to come out and support me," She rested a delicate hand on my arm, "You can bring your girlfriend."

I blushed. "Oh, uh, I don't have a girlfriend."

"No? Surely a hot guy like you _must_ have a girlfriend. And if not… well, I don't have a boyfriend. We have so much in common! Here's my number – you should call me! Anyway, I have to go. My friends and I are getting mani-pedis! See ya!" She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously and stood. She looked at Percy.

"Bye, Perce."

See ya, Silena."

"Bye, Connor."

"B-bye, Silena!"

She smirked and left. Connor looked at me.

"Dude! Silena Beauregard just talked to you! How awesome is that?"

I shrugged. "She's nice."

"She's totally into you," Percy commented.

"Nah, she just…" I struggled to come up with an excuse as to why I was now holding her phone number.

"Flirting with you?" Percy suggested.

I sighed. "When she came over here, I thought she was going to talk to you, Percy. You're, like, the most popular guy here. And all the girls are all over you."

"Hardly. And, no. I've known Silena since we were in diapers. We're close, but not like that. We have a brother-sister thing – oh, and she loves to meddle in my love life, play match-maker and stuff."

Connor smiled. "Remember the last girl she set you up with?"

Percy scowled at him. "We never speak of that again."

"So…" I was unsure, "You really think she's into me?"

Percy smiled. "Totally. Give her a call."

"Are you sure she doesn't just do this to a bunch of guys?"

Percy shifted. "I can't lie – she does love teasing guys. But… well, I know her. This time wasn't as flirty as it could've been. I think she was more genuine. Call her."

"But I was reluctant.

…

After I got home, I couldn't stop thinking about Silena. She was pretty and nice, but she seemed like those girls who just date-and-dump. She could've had tons of boyfriends. She could've had dozens of pre-made slips with fake phone numbers and I was just another guy she gave one to that night, then laughed with her friends at the nail salon.

But I knew there was something bigger holding me back.

Annabeth.

I looked at my desk. There was a picture of us. It was just before I found out I was moving. She was wearing a necklace I gave her when we were younger. It was a simple leather cord with a shark tooth hanging from it, but it meant the world to me – it was the symbol of our friendship.

That day was special…

_A little girl with blonde curls was swinging by herself. I had come to the playground with my mom and saw the girl. Her hair was in her face. She was a little short for age, as she couldn't the ground to swing herself. I went over to her and took the swing next to her._

"_Hi."_

_She looked at me hazily. "Hmm?"_

"_What's wrong?"_

"_Nothing."_

_I swung next her. There was silence before I tried again. _

"_Are you sure you're okay?"_

_She looked away from me, but I saw a single tear slide down her face. "Fine."_

_I felt the urge to make her feel better. I reached out and touched her shoulder._

"_Hey, it's okay."_

_She looked at me. "Can you keep a secret?"_

_I blinked. "Yes."_

"_Promise not to tell anyone?"_

_I nodded, ready to pinky swear, but she ignored my extended finger. _

_She told me about how her parents had fought last night. She told me about her mom leaving. By the time she was done, she was crying freely._

_I felt the impulse to touch a shiny blonde curl. It was soft and a perfect little twist. She sniffed before looking at me._

"_You promised not to tell anyone," she confirmed. I nodded._

_She narrowed her eyes. "What if you're lying?" _

_I thought about that for a moment. I took off my shark tooth necklace. _

"_Here," I said, "Take this. I promise I'm not lying and I promise not to say anything. And I promise to be your friend. We're friends, now – I'll always be here for you. No matter what, we stick together."_

That marked the beginning of our friendship. But by forgetting about her when I moved to New York, I felt like I had already broken my promise.

Even though there were no romantic feelings between us, I still felt like going out with Silena would be a betrayal. I was afraid I'd forget Annabeth over Silena. I couldn't let that happen.

But Silena seemed cool. And it's not like I was romantically interested in Annabeth, or vice versa… maybe I should date Silena. There wasn't a problem with it. But I'd give it more thought. I'll wait a little longer before I do anything. Maybe I can ask Percy what to do.

I get the strange feeling that Annabeth might not like it at first, probably because she'd be afraid I'd break my promise again, but I would convince her otherwise. Then, she'd be happy for me. She'd like that I found someone to be with. She would support me…

Right?

**A/N: Okay, that was a little longer than usual but… I had a lot to cover, and if I split it into different chapters, the chapters would be too short, I'd need to throw in some fillers, and I didn't want to do that. **

**I realize Silena is a little OOC – she's not all flirty like that. But it was only for this scene. Once Luke starts to interact with her more, we'll see her true self – the sweet, caring Silena we know and love. So Silena lovers, don't worry. I put her in there also because in the series, if you remember, initially, Silena had interest in Luke, which is why she did what she did. No, Luke isn't going to turn evil and manipulate her, but since she did like Luke in the series (at least at first), I figured it'd be good way to introduce her, here. Plus, it adds to the drama. **

**I also used this chapter to have a little fun writing and develop some characters a little further. **

**So, yeah. I think that's it…**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**

**P.S. Virtual cookie if you can answer the biology question! **


	11. A New Someone

**Chapter 11: A New Someone (Or Rather, Two New Someones) **

**A/N: Hey, hey, hey! You can probably tell from the title that we're introducing characters this chapter… Yay! This is important because these characters kick off the plot!**

**Okay, to answer some questions:**

**Yes, Percy and Annabeth will meet… Patience, my darlings!**

**Yes, this IS a Percabeth story. I know it doesn't seem like it (they haven't even met, yet!) but ultimately, this is their story and everything they go through to be together. Right now, I know it looks like… Lukabeth? Is that what you call them? You get the point. It seems that way because it's mostly in their POVs, but once Percy and Annabeth meet, we'll be seeing mostly Percy/Annabeth perspectives. **

**No, Percy isn't going to Cali. In the series, Grover and Thalia befriend Annabeth before Percy. I have special plans for how those two meet; the important thing is, I want Thalia and Grover to already be friends with Annabeth before I introduce her to Percy. So, no, he isn't going. **

**No, I'm not making Luke mean and bad. I really like Luke, so I'm keeping him the way he would be if he didn't turn evil in the series. At least, this is how I think he would be. He'll have his moments where he seems a little bit like a jerk, but then he'll fix himself. **

**I think that's it…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO**

**P.S. The answer to the bio question last chapter was B. (The second answer – I read the chapter, and for some reason, the letter choices didn't show up before the answers…)**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Thalia's POV

"Grover! Get your furry goat haunches over here!"

He huffed. "I'm not a goat, I'm not furry, and I don't have haunches!"

"Whatever. Hurry up!"

Today was the day we'd be flying to California, and I could not be more excited. My dad had taken a break from his job (some big electric company – I don't really know) because he wanted to visit my brother, Jason, back in California.

Jason got accepted into a prestigious boarding school, so when my dad had to move to New York for his company, Jason stayed behind. I wasn't sure why, but my dad had suddenly decided he wanted to visit him. Dad rarely spent time with me. I hardly saw him. I used to live with my mom, until she passed away. Until then, my dad never much cared about Jason and I. He was a millionaire, but he never sent money. When she died, Dad took us in, really because he had to. I don't talk about my family much; only Percy and Nico know about Jason and my mom, and that's because they're family. Grover and Luke don't know I'm going to California to visit my brother; they think I'm visiting my mom. They don't know she's gone. I didn't think it was important for them to know.

"Thalia!" I broke out of my thoughts when Percy called my name. He, Nico, and Luke were going to meet us here in the airport to see us off. Percy grinned at me.

"It's about time you go to a warm sunny beach – you really need a tan. Too bad you're not going, Nico." Percy liked to make fun of us. Our skin complexion was rather pale, while he had a golden-tan coloring, like he lived on a tropical island. He got that from his dad, who is also tan, while Nico and I take after our dads, who have fair skin.

"Shut up," Nico was a man – well, boy, he's twelve – of few words. He said only what he needed to say and he got his point across in few words. He preferred, "Shut up" – simple, but classic. I liked it. It usually got the job done.

Percy rolled his eyes. "You're just jealous."

"So, business class, huh?" Luke raised his eyebrow.

I blushed. "Well-"

"Daddy's really, really, rich," Percy supplied in a fake 'rich people' voice, sniffing and turning his nose up at the end. He pretended to flip his hair, "And Thalia _cannot_ be seen in-" He shuddered, "-_Coach class_."

"Shut up!"

Luke snickered.

I gave them both a well-deserved smack upside the head.

"Ow!" Percy rubbed the place where I hit him. "It's true! Your dad _is_ rich! He can afford to be snooty and refuse to fly with 'regular passengers!"

"Says the guy who took a private jet to his private beach residence in the Bahamas!"

He shrugged nonchalantly, but he was blushing. "In my defense, my dad came later, on a _cruise_ _ship_, so we took the jet just because we could, not because he was being a snob!"

"You're right – _you_ were being the snob! You could've gone on the cruise, too, but no!"

"I was little, so I couldn't take care of myself, and my mom didn't trust me with him! I've flown coach class – unlike you – and it's perfectly fine!"

Luke smiled. "I love how you guys argue over this kinda stuff, and how you complain that you _do_ get luxuries, and fight over who does _less_ fancy stuff, and actually get embarrassed by your rich-people stuff."

Percy and I ignored him and continued bickering until Dad showed up. "Albright, you two, that's enough. Say your good-byes, kids, we're leaving soon."

I looked at my friends. Grover and I each gave them a hug. I paused before I hugged Percy. He smiled.

"Well, I don't live in a mansion where the top floor is mine and the basement is an arcade anymore, so I think I win at being the most normal. Plus, I'm good-looking."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "You spend more time in my basement than I do and you're about as normal and god-looking as a hydra."

He scowled. I laughed and wrapped my arms around him. He was annoying, but he was my little cousin, and at the end of the day, I did love him as such.

"Alright, time to board," my dad interrupted our little moment. Grover and I said our final good-byes and headed for the plane.

…

"Yay! Cali, here we come!" I pumped my fists in the air and bounced in my seat. Grover was on my left, and my dad was sitting next to him. I sat by the window, looking out, ready to get the flight started. Next to me, Grover shifted nervously. He didn't like looking out the window, so he trained his eyes ahead of him to avoid looking out my window. Dad buckled his seatbelt and preceded to fall asleep.

Now, as excited as I was, and as calm as I pretended to be, and as much as I tried to hide it by actually taking the window seat, I am afraid of heights. But mostly, I was afraid of open-air heights – like, if I was in a hot air balloon, or something. Just a closed airplane, where I can't see all around me, is alright, because it's easier to pretend that I'm in a car, driving along.

"What do you think California looks like, Grover?"

"Uh, nice."

"Nice? It's California! Beaches, and sunshine, and blue skies, and hot guys playing volleyball – don't' get me wrong, I love NYC, but Cali must be a picture-perfect place to live."

We spent the flight watching movies and buying snacks. We didn't talk much, but the silence was comfortable. I would stare out my window every now and then. I loved looking into the sky, but I still felt a little nauseous from the acrophobia. It was beautiful, though. Despite my fear of heights, I loved the sky. As long as I didn't stare out the window too long, I could handle it.

Percy, on the other hand, could not stand plane rides at all. I was surprised he didn't opt the cruise when he went on vacation and took the plane instead – he was much more comfortable in the ocean. We joked about that a lot. At the club, I was a child of Zeus and he was of Poseidon. It suited us well. We joked that since Nico is a son of Hades, he must secretly love graveyards. It annoyed Nico, but he never objected…

I was pulled out of my thoughts when I realized that the seatbelt light had started blinking – we were about to land.

Once we arrived at the airport, I felt disoriented. My watch said it was 11:00 in the morning, but the airport clock said it was 8:00. I forgot that Cali was three hours behind us, in New York. I grabbed my luggage with my dad and Grover, and we headed out to find our hotel.

My dad, Grover and I were staying in a suite, so we each got a separate room.

"Grover," I said when we unpacked, "Let's go explore!"

We wandered around the hotel. It was beautiful. There was art work on the walls and bouquets of flowers on polished mahogany tables surrounded by plush, velvet furniture. We found there was a pool outside. I convinced Grover that we should grab our swimsuits and take a dip as we planned our vacation and what we would do.

We sat at the edge of the pool with our feet hanging in. I pulled my iPhone from my bag, which was already connected to the hotel's wifi, and searched for parks, as Grover wanted to take a walk, being the tree-hugger he was.

"Oh, there's a park not too far from here. We can walk there later."

"Can we go now?"

"Grover, we just got in the pool."

"We're not wet – it wouldn't be a problem to just change. We can come back to the pool later."

I decided to agree, and we headed over to the park.

…

"Wow," was all Grover could manage to say when we found the park. It really was beautiful. Flowers bloomed everywhere. The fresh air was amazing – I didn't get a lot of fresh air in New York. Grover inhaled deeply,

"Mmm," he breathed, "This is my kind of place."

We wandered around. Grover pointed out a tree we could under, but I noticed there was someone there. A girl sat under the tree, sketching in a sketchpad, absorbed in her work. Blonde curls fell around a face I couldn't see. But when she looked up, I froze.

"Oh my gods."

Grover looked at me concerned.

"What?"

"I know that girl."

"Which girl? The one under the tree?"

"Yeah."

"You know her?"

"Well, no, but I've seen her…" I tried to think why she looked so familiar.

"I know! I saw her when I went to Virginia!"

"You see a lot of people in Virginia."

I nodded, "Yeah, that's where I saw her."

"Did she see you?"

"I don't think so…"

But when the girl saw us, when she looked at me, something flickered in her eyes – something like recognition.

…

**Percy's POV**

It was the morning after Thalia and Grover had left or California. I had stayed over at Luke's for a sleepover. We decided we would spend the day together, since we didn't have anyone else to hang with and we didn't feel like going to the club.

"Thalia just texted me," Luke spoke from the bed, where he was sprawled out, finishing a plate of pancakes and bacon.

"What'd she say?"

"Nothing – it's a picture of her and Grover standing in front of their hotel, sticking their tongues out at us."

"Pfft. We can do that, too."

"If we were in front of a five-star hotel in California."

"Or…" I grabbed his fork, with his last strip of bacon on it, "I took his phone and set up the camera to take a picture of myself. I lifted my plate onto my lap, which was piled high with bacon.

"Thalia loves your mom's bacon – she may be on vacation in California, but she would give up anything for this stuff."

I took the selfie, making sure she saw the greasy goodness, and sent it over. Her reply was:

**:P u r evil**

I smiled to myself.

"I'm soooo booorrrred," Luke whined. He sat back on his bed. Despite the delicious bacon, it was pretty boring without our friends.

We were stuck at home because we were too lazy to go do anything. Well, going to Coney Island would've been awesome, but Luke's mom had errands to run and we didn't want to take any other mode of transportation, so we were stranded indoors. We spent the day watching movies, eating, playing video games, eating, studying (yes, we were that bored and that stubborn about not going anywhere) and eating.

At the end of the day, I decided to walk home. I figured I might as well burn away as many calories as I could. Plus, Luke's mom was still away and I didn't have money for a cab. The sun was setting, but it wasn't dark just yet. I could see fine. The reason I ran into the girl was because I was distracted

"Hey! Watch it! The paint's sill wet!"

The girl tumbled to the ground, dragging down her freshly painted canvas with her. The canvas pressed against her plain T-shirt when she fell, leaving the image imprinted on her belly.

"Ugh! Look what you did, klutz!"

Despite how rude she was being, I helped her up and apologized. She had fiery red hair that rested over her shoulder in a frizzy ponytail. Her nose was splashed with freckles. Green eyes glared at me. She huffed.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaimed.

"Whatever. Just pay attention next time."

I apologized again and she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, just drop it. Apologizing won't change the past. Ugh, but my painting! Oh, well, I can repaint it at home – not all the paint came off, I can still see what I did, so I just have to redo it with more paint to darken it. No use crying over spilled milk."

I stared at her. She had an odd attitude. I expected her to be like all the other people I had run into and chew me out, then storm away.

"What? What are you looking at?"

"N-nothing."

She rolled her eyes again and started to walk off. I wasn't sure why, but I followed after her.

"What?" She asked, annoyed.

"What's your name?"

She blinked. "Why?"

"I…" I said the first thing I thought of, "I think I've seen you before. And I just remembered that I need to stop by a store that's this way, so if we're going in the same direction, might as well get to know each other a little, right?"

She gave me a weird look, but after a long pause, she sighed in exasperation and spoke.

"Rachel. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare."

**A/N: So, what do we think? The week after next week, I'll be away, so I'll try to make up for it by updating two chapters next week – no promises. **

**Thank you for your reviews and Alert/Favorite subscriptions!**

**Drop a review if you can – if you're an author here, you know Alert/Favorite subscriptions are awesome, but reviews are the absolute best. **

**Thanks!**

**R&R!**

**- Promise. **


	12. Make New Friends

**Chapter 12: Make New Friends… But Keep The Old**

**A/N: Okay, so I don't have much to say except cover replies for some reviews (I won't give the pennames – just read the answers, you'll find a reply, you know which review is yours):**

**Ok. So I can safely say that, well, yes there will be a teensy bit of Percy/Rachel, but no more than the series (just crushing, really, no actual relationship). If you could handle the series' Percy/Rachel, even if it was just barely, you'll be fine. **

**Percabeth will be coming… uh, somewhat soon, I guess. Sorry for dragging along – I have to develop five books' worth of feelings in a few chapters to make this work properly. **

**Ok, so the reviewer who is not liking the story because it's cliché… um, sorry? I apologize that you don't like the story, but I want to keep to the series, and I guess all the other authors do, too, so that's why it seems cliché. For me, fanfiction doesn't necessarily mean taking already-developed characters and just using them for your own story – it also means taking their world and altering it. So this is their world, that I've just made AU; this isn't **_**what**_** would happen if they were mortal this is **_**how**_** the **_**exact same events**_** of the books **_**could**_** happen if they were mortal. Do you see what I mean? Sorry for your unpleasant experience, but hey, no one's making you read so… I guess this is good-bye. Don't waste your time on this story if you don't enjoy it. Congrats, though – you basically outlined the very basic foundation of the story in your review, except the last few points about Annabeth falling in love with Percy instantly and leaving Luke for him and Percy dating Rachel and breaking her heart for Annabeth and Annabeth getting all whiny and then THE END. Uh, not quite. I think I have a few interesting plot twists up my sleeve but if you think this story is hopeless, read something else. Don't waste your time here. I'd like for you to give the story a second chance and keep reading but I will not beg for that. Alright. Cool. **

**I am proud to have accomplished getting a 14-15 year old to whine like a little kid. Keep whining – I have a soft spot for little kids so maybe I'll update faster.**

**So, for the rest of you, I'm glad you're liking the story.**

**And that's it!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. (Sad face)**

**P.S. Just out of curiosity… how many of my readers are girls and how may are boys? I feel like there are mostly girls here on FanFiction (though I know of some **_**amazing**_** guy writers) and I feel like only girls would read this story because only girls would actually like it. Give me your opinions because I want to be gender-friendly and I'm curious. **

**BTDubs, I'm a girl, if you couldn't tell by my girly penname and my signature at the end of each chapter's ending A/N. So. If I have guy readers, help me out – I'm girly, I'm probably writing the guys' POVs too sentimental; tell me. Constructive criticism is good. **

**Sorry for the long author's note, but stuff had to be said…**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Thalia's POV

"Okay, I think it's this one."

Grover looked up at the small diner I had directed him to.

"Even if it's not the right place, I'm starving, so let's go in."

We'd already been in California a few weeks, and it was great. The warm sun and the beautiful beaches were awesome, and I could finally wipe that smirk off Percy's face when I got back because I had a nice golden tan.

This morning, Grover and I decided to not eat breakfast at the hotel and scope out somewhere else to eat. We found this cute little diner, so we decided to try it.

When we stepped in, though, it was full.

"Uh-oh," Grover murmured, "I'm hungry, I don't wanna go somewhere else but if we wait here, we'll miss our movie!"

I rolled my eyes. "It's your fault for buying movie tickets for freakin' 10:30 in the morning! Who does that?"

"Sorry! But it was the only available time we can go! We have to get back to the hotel because your dad wants a 'family evening' with you!"

"Ugh, don't remind me. Come on, let's see if anyone wants to share a table, or something."

"Thalia, check it out," Grover pointed to a table that was empty, except for one person: Virginia-And-Park-Blonde-Girl.

"Let's see if she'll let us sit with her!" He scampered off.

"Grover, wait!" But he had already asked the girl. She nodded and motioned to the empty seat. Grover grinned at me and plopped down on the empty couch across from the girl. I sighed and sat down.

"Sorry," I apologized, "My friend here is starving and doesn't want to look for another place to eat, and we don't want to wait because we're catching a movie in forty-five minutes."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're watching a movie in the morning?"

I glared at Grover. "He's a strange one."

She smiled. Then she focused on me. I felt unnerved under her stare. Her eyes were gray and deep, intelligent and cunning – she looked at me like she knew something I didn't, like she knew me better than I knew myself, and like she was calculating the best way to destroy, should she ever need to. I shuddered.

"I've seen you before."

I nodded.

"In Virginia," We said in unison.

"And at the park," she added, "Just a few days ago. I'm Annabeth, by the way. Annabeth Chase."

"Thalia," I shook her hand.

"Thalia_ Grace_," Grover clarified with a smirk, knowing I hated my last name (it was too formal and… proper), "And my name's Grover Underwood."

"Pleasure," she said, "You guys can sit here as long as you don't mind – my friend's meeting me here. He should be here soon."

I raised an eyebrow teasingly, "_Boy_friend?"

She blushed. "No, just a friend." Her phone buzzed. "That must be him."

She looked down, frowned, tapped out a rely, and looked up.

"Never mind. He had an emergency so he won't be able to make it."

"Sorry about that."

She shrugged. "So, you guys live around here? I saw you in Virginia, so I assumed you lived there – did you move here?"

"No. Actually, I was visiting Virginia and we're vacationing here. We live in New York."

"The Big Apple – impressive. I've always wanted to go to NYC."

"So, are you on vacation here?"

She shook her head. "My family moved here, almost a year ago."

"Oh." It was awkward for a moment, but the waitress helped us out be coming over to take our orders. Thankfully, placing orders got us talking again – food is always a great conversation-starter.

We eased into a conversation, and there were no more extended pauses. Annabeth was a cool girl. She told us about her move and a little bit about her family. She liked to run and played volleyball. She also was into architecture. I established quickly that if it weren't her fun and slightly fierce personality, she would've been a complete nerd. After some time talking, she excused herself to use the bathroom.

"Hey, Grover, her friend couldn't make it so any of her plans with him are canceled – why don't we invite her to the movies with us? She seems really cool and we could use another friend."

He didn't have to think about it long. She was growing on him as quickly as she was on me. "Sure, why not?"

"You know who she reminds me of a little bit?"

"Luke?"

"Totally. I don't know, it's something about her – they would be great friends. If she ever comes to New York, we should introduce Annabeth to him."

"Introduce Annabeth to who?" Annabeth had come back.

"This friend of ours. He's really great and you reminded us of him."

"Really? What's his name?"

"It's-" Grover was interrupted by the waitress coming b with our check. Then he checked his phone.

"Oh! We need to go if we wanna make the movie on time!" The previous conversation was completely forgotten as we walked to the movie theater, which wasn't very far away.

**(A/N: Hee-hee, so close for Lukabeth, but not yet…)**

…

**Percy's POV**

"Yes, Mom, I know. I'll be careful. Love you, too."

My mom worried too much. I had just gone to Montauk Beach for a while, by myself, and she called me every five minutes. I was making my way home, and decided I'd walk some of the way home – she bugged out when I told her, because it was so dangerous, but she finally came around. I've received 16 calls from her in the last half hour.

I jammed my hands in my pocket as I walked home. I knew the way, as I had done this before (with my mom) and could walk it without really needing to pay much attention. Since I wasn't focusing so hard, it was easy to get distracted by the statues on a pedestal that were coming down and switching place with some other statues.

Wait, what?

There was a silver, a gold, and a bronze statue on the pedestal, striking poses. They then came off the pedestal and I realized that they were actually kids, about my age, painted completely and standing still on a pedestal. A sign said something, but I couldn't read it. As the kids switched places, I noticed that the face of one of them looked very familiar. I also noticed that a few strands of hair had missed the golden spray and the color showing through was red.

Rachel Elizabeth Dare. It had to be. Why she was painted gold and posing as a statue in a park, I had no idea. But I hadn't been able to stop thinking about her, for some reason. No, I was _not_ attracted to her, not at all – she just… came to mind every now and then. I was going to just walk away inconspicuously, but she saw me.

"Percy?" **(A/N: Assume Percy introduced himself after Rachel, after where I ended last chapter.)**

I cursed.

"Uh, hey, Rachel."

She crossed her arms. She looked weird with her golden paint. Only her green eyes showed, distorting the solid, lifeless statue image.

"So…" I started awkwardly, "Gold is definitely your color, huh?"

"What are you doing here, Jackson?"

I motioned around. "You're painted gold with a bunch of other kids, posing as statues in a park, and you're asking _me_ what _I'm_ doing? I'm walking home, what are you doing?"

She pointed to the sign. "Raising awareness of the importance of the arts."

I blinked. "Right. So…um…"

"Listen, I have to get up on the pedestal for my turn, but I'll be done in ten minutes. I'll clean up, and we grab lunch or something, k?"

Before I could respond, he was off. I thought it was rather strange that she suddenly suggested hanging out, but I decided not to question it. Maybe it would be okay.

…

"Ooohh, sounds like someone's in love…"

"Shut up!" I swatted Luke's arm.

"Ow!"

Again, we were hanging out together. We had other friends, but they weren't close. We had come to Club Half-Blood to see everyone else, but mostly stuck together. I had told him about my day with Rachel, and now he was teasing me for it.

"Anyway, what's up with you and Silena?"

Suddenly, he turned serious. "I… I don't think I wanna date her."

"What? Why not? She's into you, you're into her."

"I know, but… I can't stop thinking about Annabeth."

I sighed.

"Look, man, I know things are rocky between you guys and all, but – I think you've done what you can to save your friendship. Now, it's up to her, and it depends on her wanting to save it now. You can't do much more. Besides, you're saving a friendship, not a relationship – unless you want to go ahead ask her out or something, straight up, well, there isn't a reason why you shouldn't date someone. And you're not marrying her, you're not entering a committed relationship – you can just go on a couple dates and see what you think."

He sighed. "I guess you're right. I haven't talked to Annabeth in forever, I don't know what the deal is with her. But if she wants this to work, she can call me."

"You sound like you guys are trying to get through a marriage or something."

He cracked a smile. "Thanks, Perce."

"Mm-hmm."

"Does that make me a jerk?"

"What?"

"Like, just not talking to her anymore? I feel bad. I don't wanna make new friends and drop the old ones."

I looked at him. I started to wonder about him a little.

"Dude, all I know is that friends don't just replace friends. You'll be fine. Now chill out, you sound like a girl. If you wanna talk like this, maybe you _should_ hang with Silena, but not a date – more like a therapy session."

"Whatever."

"Or, like, girl talk – do each other's hair, watch chick-flicks, gossip, maybe some huggin' and cryin' over a pint of Ben and Jerry's…"

He rolled his eyes. "What_ever. _Wanna go get a cheeseburger and see if anyone wants to wrestle?"

I grinned at him. Life was starting to get a little crazy, especially with this girl nonsense, so I was glad to know he was still Luke under all those tangled up emotions.

"Now you're talking."

**A/N: What'd you think? How fast was this update? Proud of me? Love me now after I abandoned this for a year? Good enough for me to get rewarded with Alert/Favorite subscriptions, or better yet… dare I ask… a review?**

**Let me know!**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	13. Annie and Lucas

**Chapter 13: Annie and Lucas**

**A/N: Hey! I'm sooo sorry for taking so long. I think I told you guys I'd be away last week. I had no way of posting, so I was going to post on Monday before I left. Well, guess what? My wi-fi was down (of course) so now, I have to post until today. So, sorry for the wait, but here it is!**

**Okay, so I don't have much else to say except:**

**Erinwritesfanfics: Thank you! **

**Livelaughloveandread: or else what? Haha, lol. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

"Stop it, Thalia! You know I don't like getting splashed!"

"Oh, sorry, Goat Boy! I forgot about your fur and how much you hate getting it wet!"

I couldn't help but laugh I invited Grover and Thalia over to my house, where we had a pool, and they were enjoying themselves. At least, Thalia was. Grover wasn't a big fan of swimming and had opted to hang out on a chair by the pool. Thalia was amusing herself by sending water his way. Grover huffed.

"You're going to get my book wet!"

"Oh my gods, Grover, you've been hanging around Annie too much, you're becoming a nerd, like her."

"Hey! And I told you guys – don't call me 'Annie'!" Thalia and Grover had become very fond of calling me that.

She smirked. I heard my phone ring from one of the beach chairs. I excused myself to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Annabeth."

"Oh, hey Malcolm. What's up?"

"I'm sorry about the other day, when I couldn't make our movie."

"Oh, that's fine, your dog eating half a king size Hershey bar is definitely more important than a movie. Is he okay?"

"Yeah, he's fine, thankfully. So listen, I was wondering if I could take a rain check, maybe later today?"

"Oh. Um…" I glanced at the pool, where my new friends were playing around. I had asked them to stay as long as they liked and didn't want to make plans with anyone else.

"Annabeth?"

"Well, I made some new friends and they're over here, and they'll probably be here all day…"

"Oh. That's fine. Anyone I know?"

"Uh, no, I don't think so."

"Oh, Well, maybe another day?"

"Yeah… Or, wait, a second don't hang up!"

"Anna-"

But I put the phone down and went to the pool's edge.

"Hey, guys, remember how my friend the other day had an emergency and we didn't hang out?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think he could come over today, maybe?"

Thalia pulled herself out of the pool, pulling a towel over her head to dry off her hair. She then slipped a blue cover-up over her black bikini **(A/N: Would she wear a bikini, do you think?)** and bit into a buffalo wing from a tray on a poolside table.

"That depends," she managed around a mouthful of chicken, "Is he hot?"

"Eh, it depends on your taste. He's not _bad_-looking."

"Is he a nerd, like you?"

I crossed my arms. "I'm not a nerd!"

"So he is a nerd. I think it's fine, as long as he's your kind of nerd – like a cool nerd."

"I don't know if I should be flattered or offended, but okay. Grover?"

There was no response.

"Grover?"

"Hmm? He had been busy dunking tortilla chips in the bean dip. He wasn't paying attention and I had to explain the story again. After his agreement, I went to let Malcolm know he could come over and made sure to remind him to bring a swimsuit.

…

"Thalia, Grover? This is Malcolm, my best friend. Malcolm, this Thalia and Grover, my new friends from New York."

"Nice to meet you," Malcolm shook their hands.

"So, you guys are from New York?" Malcolm followed Thalia towards the pool."

"Yup. How do you feel about diving boards?"

"I love them"

They headed towards the board, each claiming their dive was more impressive than the other's. They asked Grover and I to be the judges. It seemed childish to me, but I played along anyway.

After Grover and I deemed them both winners and having equally amazing dives(at which time they sported the very childish act of whining) we headed in for lunch.

Malcolm asked Thalia and Grover all about New York – Central Park, the Empire State Building, Times Square, the Statue of Liberty, and other such attractions.

…

"Alright, bye, guys!" Malcolm waved to Thalia and me as he led Grover out the door. I had convinced the boys to go and have fun together while Thalia and I also did our own thing. Grove was a lot of fun and really sweet, but I wanted to get to know Thalia better.

"So did you think Malcolm was hot?"

She grinned slyly, "Well, sure – tall, blonde, working on his abs, apparently – but not my type. Not to date, anyway, but as a friend. Do you think he's hot?"

I made a face. "Only in the kind of way I could think of a brother as hot =- chic-magnet, I guess, but, eww, I can't _go out_ with him, he's my brother."

She laughed. "So he's more of just a brother for you? That's nice."

We went upstairs to my room.

"So," Thalia flopped down on my bed, "What's the plan?"

"Tell me about yourself – what's your life like back home?"

She shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

"I don't know, what are your friends like? What school do you go to? What do you want to be when you grow up? Stuff like that."

"Well, I have a lot of different friends – I have my cousins, who I'm close to. Nico is a little bit distant sometimes, but Percy is fun. He's very… easy-going and light-hearted. Doesn't let things get to him too much, you know? Sort of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy…"

She told me about some of her other friends as well as her school and what she did for fun. I decided to ask her a probing question. It was maybe a little risky, but I wasn't asking her for her social security number or anything. I figured it was okay.

"Do you… have a crush on any special guy?"

She rolled her eyes, but there was a faint, pink blush on her cheeks.

"I guess… maybe there's one guy…"

"Yeah? Who?"

"L-um… Lucas."

**Thalia's POV**

I wasn't sure why, but I was reluctant to tell Annabeth Luke's actual name. In a panic, I blurted out 'Lucas' instead of 'Luke'. For some reason, even though I knew Annabeth and Luke couldn't possibly know each other, I got the feeling that maybe she did and I didn't want her to know. **(A/N: you know when someone asks you who you like, and even though you know there's no way they actually know each other, you still don't really want to tell them? Think of it like that.)**

"Lucas? Ooh, what's he like?"

"He has sky blue eyes, and sandy blonde hair that he's always flipping out of his face… and he's pretty cool."

She nodded. "That's great! So how long has this been going on?"

I sat up and tucked my legs underneath me. "Well, it's not that I have a major crush on him. I just kinda like him a little. But honestly, it's just a little thing – I mean if he likes someone else, or got a girlfriend, or one of my friends liked him, I wouldn't have a problem. I'd help them get together because, whatever. I don't like him all that much."

"Oh, okay. Well, still."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

I nudged her. "Do you like anyone?"

"Well… there's this one guy. But, then he moved away. We lost contact for a bit. And now, we sort of talk, sometimes, but not really. It's kind of awkward."

Oh, that's a bummer. He's kind of being a little bit of a jerk, huh?"

She sighed. "Maybe a little. But it's kind of my fault, too."

"Maybe you should try talking to him one more time. IF you call, he'll see you're still interested and willing to give him another chance. You guys should try to fix things up.

"Yeah, maybe I'll call him later."

"So, what's his name?"

"Oh, his name's-"

My phone rang.

"Oh! I didn't realize how late it was, oh my gods, I need to get home, now!"

Annabeth almost looked relieved, like she wasn't too comfortable with the conversation before we were interrupted. Because of that, I decided against resuming the talk later.

"Right, well, I have to leave," I gave her a hug, "Let me know how things go."

She nodded. "See ya, Thals. Hey, when do you leave?"

My smile faded. "In three days. We'll spend as much more time as possible together, okay?"

"Totally."

…

Once home, after enduring a half-hearted scolding form my father for getting home later than agreed, I trudged upstairs and signed onto my Skype account. My friends in New York had agreed to meet at Percy's place tonight for a video chat. Grover joined me in my room.

"Hey, guys!" Percy waved, a little too enthusiastically.

"Hey, Perce, move your face a little back so that we can see everyone else, too," Grover said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, Jackson, if I'll all I'm gonna see is a screen-full of your hydra-face than I'm signing off."

He stuck his tongue out at me.

"Hey, guys, what's up?" Luke appeared next to Percy. I thought about my conversation with Annabeth, but, just like I'd told her, I didn't have actual strong feelings for him – just a little thing, but I wouldn't even really call it a crush.

"Hey, Luke."

"How's vacation going?" Katie came up behind Percy. It surprised me a little – we were friends, but we weren't super close; we hung out at the club, but that was it. I didn't mind her being there, though.

"It's great! We made these two new friends and they're a lot of fun! California is gorgeous."

"That's nice!"

"Ugh," Percy sighed, "Do you have to rub it in? The highlight of my summer was getting paid 2 bucks to walk Mrs. O'Leary and clean up her poop."

I laughed. "Remind me why you named her that?"

He blushed. "I didn't name her! She already had that name when we adopted her from Quintus Adoption Center!"

"Whatever."

"I saw your pictures on PicShare," Katie continued, "Next time you go to Cali, take me with you.

"Take me, too!" Travis and Connor made their appearances, "I wanna go! Oh, and Katie-Kat, you declined my pal invitation. How can I stalk- I-I mean, get to know you better if you don't accept my invitation?"

We decided to ignore him.

"Will do, Katie. Too bad we're leaving here in three days. But it'll be great seeing you guys again. And getting back to the club."

"So," Luke scooted a little closer to the screen, "You guys make friends or anything?"

"Two," Grover piped up excitedly, "Malcolm and Annie."

"Yeah? What're they like?"

We told our friends all about Malcolm and Annabeth. I actually made some other friends when I was at Madame Tussads Hollywood when I was looking for a bathroom. I was just with my dad so Grover didn't meet them (he's freaked out by wax figures).

It didn't even occur to me until much later that we'd introduced Annabeth as 'Annie' – I hadn't even noticed, since Grover and I were so used to teasing Annabeth, but I guess it didn't really matter, since they'd never actually meet.

**A/N: Wow, is she wrong, or what? Little does she know that in a few months or so (only a couple more chapters) Annabeth and Malcolm run into- oops! Almost gave it away! :P**

**Did you like my PicShare thing? And pal invitations? In case you didn't get it (hey, no shame) that's my take on Facebook and friend requests. **

**Okay, the story may be moving a bit… not faster, per say, but with time lapses. Looking back on it, I'm not sure why I chose to make Percy's vaca in spring break, I think winter was actually perfect timing, but I don't want to confuse anyone and I don't have a creative way of fixing it, so it's staying as is – just know we'll be jumping ahead a bit, eventually. **

**So, again, sorry for the wait, and sorry it's till dragging, but it's kind of an important development. Oh, question:**

**Should I do some Tratie? I don't know where it came from but I like it. **

**Also, I do like Thuke, definitely better than Thalico (sorry) but I'm keeping it to only a hint because I feel like maybe once upon a time liked hi a little, and then it just kind of ended. So, no Thuke, but I like them a lot, and maybe I can pull out a oneshot about them, if I get enough interest. **

**SO, I guess that's it. What'd you guys think? **

**R&R!**

**- Promise **

**P.S. Apparently, it's Thuke week for weeks of PJO ships (heard about it on another fanfic) so um…**

**Happy Thuke Week! **

**Did anybody else know about this? Keep me posted if you have.**


	14. Moving (Again)

**Chapter 14: Moving (Again)**

**A/N: Hello! Okay, so I know what happened with the ship week thing – I was gone for a week, and when I came back at the end of Thuke week, I didn't notice that the update had been at the beginning of Thuke week, so when I updated and said it was Thuke week, I was a week behind.**

**I have no idea what week this is or what week is next, so just forget I said anything.**

**Okay, some other quick notes (review replies):**

**I don't know where Tratie came from, either, but I like it.**

**I'm going to say this one more time:**

**THIS **_**IS**_** A PERCABETH STORY. We've been over this. I've said it before. I know it doesn't seem like it with all the craziness but it is a Percabeth story. Actually, Percabeth starts in, like, two chapters. **

**Alright, guys, just saying, this chapter gets intense. We're really kicking off the plot so get excited!**

**And that's it!**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Thalia's POV

I sighed. We're heading back to New York today. Even though I was excited to see my friends again, I was sad to leave my new friends; not only Annabeth and Malcolm, though I'd miss them the most, but also the other friends I had made in California.

"Thalia? Are you ready?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'm all set."

He appeared in the doorway of my hotel room.

"Jason will be at the airport to say good-bye."

I nodded. I didn't get a chance to know Jason all that well, so we weren't close when I arrived here to visit him. But after only this short time here, I already felt closer to my brother; we were rather similar. I was glad I'd get to see him one last time.

"Malcolm and Annabeth are meeting us there, too," my dad added before picking up my bags and heading out. That excited me, too, seeing them. I still needed to get contact information from those two.

The airport wasn't too far from the hotel, so we got their in a short amount of time. I spotted Annabeth and Malcolm and raced over to them, Grover at my heels.

"Thalia!" Annabeth threw her arms around me.

I hugged her tightly. When we pulled away, she handed me a slip of paper.

"Here, I wrote my number and email. Malcolm put his on there, too. I'll miss you. Both of you."

She hugged Grover as I embraced Malcolm.

"Have a safe flight, guys. Send us pictures of the Big Apple."

"Will do."

We stood in silence for a few minutes, until Grover broke it by saying, "I need to use the bathroom."

Almost immediately after he left, I heard, "Hey, Thals."

I whirled around. I had grown very familiar with that voice.

"Jason!"

He tackled me. I pulled back and held him at arm's length, wanting to get a good look at his face before I left. I introduced Annabeth and Malcolm to my little brother.

Jason couldn't stay long. He actually only stayed a few minutes – he had to rush to get back to his school for some event. But it was nice to say good-bye.

When Grover came back, we said our final good-byes – it was time to board the plane and head home.

…

"So, good to be back in New York?"

I was sitting at a nearby Starbucks with Luke. He, and some of our other friends, had met Grover and I at the airport. Slowly, our friends had dispersed, with different places they needed to be. Luke invited Grover and me to coffee, but Grover opted to head home and get some rest. So Luke and I were on our own.

"Yeah, it's nice to be back. I miss the beaches and constant nice weather, though."

"Yeah, I'll bet. Have any pictures of the places you visited?"

I pulled out my phone.

"So you said you made a lot of friends, and you told us about them. But I wanna hear more about them, what they're like."

I smiled. I decided to pick out my special friends.

"-And he was really cool. Those were the guy friends I made. The girls… well, there was this one girl who was really fun. I think I spent about half of my time with her. She was nice and really pretty, oh, and smart…"

I went on, running through a mental list of people I met.

"Wow. Cool."

"So what did you guys do here?"

Luke smiled and told me about what I had missed here.

**{A/N: Can you guess the two people Thalia talked about? I don't think so… ;)}**

…

Annabeth's POV

"Wh-what? You're kidding, right? You can't be serious!"

I stood from the dinner table and stared at my dad.

"Annabeth, please, try to understand! This is an incredible offer! I must take it!"

"I can't believe this! I just settled into life here, and you're moving us again!"

I raced up the stairs, taking two at a time.

"Annabeth!"

I ignored him and closed my bedroom door behind me. My dad had just spilled the news during dinner that we were moving, this time because of a really great job offer. I was so upset when I heard that, I didn't even remember where the project was, or what it was about. I could already feel the tears burning. The person I'd miss the most was Malcolm.

_Malcolm._

Oh, no, I have to tell him.

I picked up my phone and called him.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Malcolm."

"Oh, hey, Annabeth, are you okay? You sound kinda upset."

I was going to invite him to my house tomorrow to tell him, but I decided to just tell him then.

"I am upset. I just found I'm moving! And not just another house, some other state!"

There was a pause.

"Malcolm?"

"Annabeth, my dad just said we're moving, too."

A glimmer of hope lit up in me, until I remembered when I moved to California. I told Luke I was moving, and he was moving, too, but it turned out we weren't going to the same place.

The hope died down.

"Oh. Where are you going?"

"I don't know – my dad said he wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh."

"But, I have something good that will come of this!"

"Really? What?" I doubted anything could make this situation good.

"Well, my dad did tell me one thing – it's some job offer, some history research project, of sorts, and it turns out that your dad got offered to work on that same project, at the same location! And Dad says your dad took the offer, too! So that means we're moving together, to the same place!"

My mouth fell open.

"That's – wow! That's great! Oh, where do you think we're going?"

"No idea! I think it's along the East Coast, though."

We talked for a bit longer. I hung up, and it was then that I noticed that my dad stood in the doorway. I looked up at him.

"Sorry," he said, "I knocked, but you didn't reply, so I thought you were really mad, so I just came in, and then I saw you were on the phone."

"You didn't tell me Malcolm's dad took up the same offer! You didn't mention we would be moving together!"

He looked surprised. "Oh, I didn't know. Well, that's great! So you're not upset anymore, I take it?"

I managed a smile. "I guess not. He was my only true friend here, anyway. So, where did you say we were going, again? Malcolm's dad didn't tell him – he wants it to be a surprise."

"We're going to-"

I heard my stepmom call my father.

"Hold that thought, Annabeth. Or, you know what, a surprise is a great idea. How about you wait until we get to the airport? Then I'll tell you. You can start packing, if you want – we leave in a week."

With that, he left. I wouldn't find out where we were going until next week. That is, of course, if I didn't get the information elsewhere.

"Oh, Bobby, Matthew!"

…

Luke's POV

"Guys! Guys! Guess what I just found out!"

Thalia raced to our table. She was clearly excited about something. We were having lunch at Club Half-Blood, and she'd stepped out of her place in the long line to tell us whatever she had just learned.

"What is it, Thalia?" Percy asked with a smile, "You're bouncing around more than my half-brother Tyson when he got his hands on a large coffee with, like, eight packs of sugar!"

She waved her phone around.

"Remember those friends I told you guys about? The ones I talked to you about at Starbucks, Luke?"

We all nodded our heads.

"Well, I just found out two are moving, here, to New York! Too bad Grover's not here for this!"

"Doesn't he know these guys, too, though? So won't they tell him, too?"

But Thalia wasn't listening. She was reading over the email her friends had sent.

"This is so great! One of them's moving… oh! I think into your building, Percy! She's awesome, you'll love her!"

Thalia continued rambling, and Percy was right – she was worse than a seven-year-old on a massive caffeine-sugar high.

I was excited for Thalia, but moving and California made me think about Annabeth, who I actually hadn't talked to in a very long time. I wish Thalia had met her in California; they could've been great friends. I wish Annabeth was moving to New York City.

…

Annabeth's POV (again)

"Annabeth! Wake up! We're gonna miss our plane!"

I groaned. The twins were jumping on my bed.

"Gt out!" I flung the nearest pillow at the nearest boy.

"Oomf! Mom! She's shooting pillow-cannonballs at us!"

Helen appeared in the doorway, trying to suppress a smile.

"Boys, leave her alone. She needs to shower and get ready. Good morning, Annabeth."

I sighed.

"Oh, it could've been."

She laughed lightly and herded the boys out, closing the door softly.

When we finally got to the airport, Malcolm was already there. He didn't have two little rascals to keep track of, so he had probably made it to the airport in no time, and with no hassle.

"Hey, Annabeth. You ready?"

"Definitely! I'm excited, too!"

"I think our seats are next to each other. I think my dad's the third in our row."

"Oh, that's a great arrangement. It would be perfect, though, if my brothers were far away."

"What, like the back of the plane?"

"More like a _different_ plane."

He laughed. He then turned to his dad, who was standing with mine, comparing notes on some work they had to bring to the project.

"Dad? Can you tell us where we're going now?"

I hadn't been able to convince my brothers or Helen to tell me (they found out my dad was keeping it a surprise for me) so I listened.

Malcolm's dad was about to respond when the intercom came on, announcing our flight and answering our question.

"Attention all passengers. Flight 23A with service to-"

**A/N: Cliffie! Although you can probably guess what will happen next chapter… or can you?**

**Hee-hee. *wink-wink***

**R&R! The more I get, the faster the updates!**

**- Promise**


	15. ADHD and JFK

**Chapter 15: ADHD and JFK**

**A/N: Okay! So, new chapter! I only got, like, three reviews, but I am going to post anyway because even though I don't have a lot of reviews I have a few faithful reviewers – I don't want to let you guys down, or keep you waiting too long, so here you go! **

**I don't have much to say except:**

**WARNING! This chapter, but more so the next one, might be confusing. Just take a breath, read it through, read it again, (review) and read the end author's notes which will explain what just happened. **

**And that's really it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. Oh! Specific disclaimer: I also don't won a sentence I took from TLO – can you guess which one?**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

_Beep-beep!_

Nothing.

_Beep-beep!_

Nothing.

_Beep-beep!_

Nothing. _Sigh._

_Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-beep- beep-beep-_

"Oh my gods, Percy, I'm _coming_!"

I smiled to myself. I was picking up Rachel so we could hang out. I'd gotten really close to her lately and liked getting to spend time with her.

The door to her mansion opened.

See, Rachel's dad owned some big company – Dare Enterprises – so they were insanely rich and lived in a mansion. Rachel didn't like talking about it, though – her dad's money came from projects that were against everything she stood for.

Rachel was into urban projects and feeding the homeless and going to protest rallies to "Save the Endangered Yellow-bellied Sapsucker" and stuff like that.

Her dad's company tore down the wilderness.

Today, I was helping Rachel set up some fundraiser to save a rainforest in… Well, I forget. But the point was I got to spend time with Rachel, which was nice.

Rachel walked to the car. She was dressed in a white tank top and denim shorts splattered with paint. I couldn't tell if it was intentional or an accident – with Rachel, it very well could've been either. Or a little of both.

"Hey, Percy," she hopped in next to me and leaned across to give me a loose hug.

"Hey, Rachel. What's up?"

"Eh, not much. But today is going to be great! You and I get to work on making awareness posters. Then we'll go post them so people know when and where the fundraiser is. Then, we have to make posters for the actual fundraiser – you know, prices of admission and food, the games we're having and all that jazz. Next, we have to go shopping for all necessary supplies and set up some of the booths. Finally, I have to put together my presentation on the importance of conserving the wilderness and I have to finish my painting for the art exhibition we're having at the end of the fundraiser. It's just to raise a bit more and to capture the beauty of nature so everyone can see what they're helping save. Plus, it's a chance for people to see the work of the kids taking my art class at the community center. So I'm really killing two birds with one stone."

Rachel took her first breath since she started that little speech.

The fundraiser was going to be a carnival. We only had today to get the last few things together and Rachel asked me to help because the others had already made huge contributions and dedicated so much time; she didn't want to burn them out. She also needed the extra hands.

Although, I was on poster duty, and with my dyslexia, I wasn't sure how much help I could be. And with my ADHD, I wasn't sure how tolerable I'd be. Or how much of today I would spend actually working.

"Oh, and that's a really col shirt, Perce."

I had decided that the best way for Rachel to keep in mind my ADHD tendencies was to wear a shirt that read in large, bold, font:

EASILY DISTRACTED BY SHINY THINGS

It's true. Shiny things are distracting.

And in case Rachel was looking at me from behind, the back of my shirt read:

ADHD: ATTENTION DEFI- HEY LOOK! A SQUIRREL!

"Thanks. I like yours, too. And I like the paint on your shorts. It looks so – wow! Your shoelaces are so sparkly!"

…

"Hi, Percy, I'm Lizzie. Thanks for coming out. So, you and Rachel are in charge of posters – we set up a work table for you guys over there. Have fun and thanks again!"

I took the nametag she offered me and followed Rachel to the table. It was going to be a long day, but I got to spend it with Rachel, so it would be fine.

"So, Percy, let's get started!" Rachel handed me a bright orange poster board and a black marker.

"Here's a sheet – just copy this information on the poster board."

Sounds easy enough. Except the fact that the paper was handwritten in fancy cursive that I couldn't read.

"Cone to our fun eraser," I read, "Help save brain farts in sloth aquariums."

Rachel looked at me funny, then glanced over my shoulder.

"Come to our fundraiser," she corrected, "Help save rainforests in South America."

"Oh," I blushed.

"You know what Percy? Why don't I write and you decorate?" She pushed a bin full of stickers, markers, gluesticks, printout pictures of rainforests, glitter, and paint towards me.

We worked until lunch. The entire time we worked, we held an easy conversation.

"So, Percy, you know what I like to do. How about you? What do you like to do?"

"Well, I love the beach."

"Oh, I guess that's why you've always got that hot-surfer-guy tan, huh?"

"I don't surf, though – it's not really a New York thing. "

"Right," she nudged me, "But if you ever visit California or Hawaii, you could totally pull-off the shirtless look. It'd be like you've surfed your whole life. And your biceps are pretty big," she playfully punched my upper arm, "Must be pretty muscular under that ADHD T-shirt. I mean, you must work out a lot."

I shrugged. "Not really. Unless you count lifting a jumbo hamburger to my mouth and running to the bathroom in twenty seconds flat during commercial break a workout."

She laughed. It was nice to hear, even though what I said wasn't all that funny. Most of my jokes weren't funny, but I appreciated her response. She even laughed at my really corny jokes – I wonder why. She must want to make me feel okay. That, or she has a bad sense of humor.

"I bet your girlfriend cherishes all that hard work when you take her to the beach."

I shook my head. I don't have a girlfriend."

"Oh!" Her tone and expression implied surprise, but I saw something else in her eyes - relief?

Nah.

We continued getting to know each other for the rest of the day. Rachel got cooler and cooler the more I found out about her.

She was also really pretty… not that I really noticed. She was just a friend. She didn't mean any more to me than any of my other friends and she didn't mean to me in a different way from my other friends. They were all equal. I don't like her that way.

Not at all…

…

Annabeth's POV

"Ugh, finally! Malcolm! Wake up!" I whacked him with my pillow.

"Uh? What?" Malcolm rubbed his eyes, sitting up from his nap.

"Get up! We're here! We're finally here, this is so exciting!"

He nodded, still drowsy, and gathered his things. We all moved into the airport.

"This is so cool!" Bobby turned in a circle, inspecting the airport.

"I can't believe we're here!" Matthew was jumping up and down in excitement.

"Now, now, settle down! Why don't we grab some dinner then go see our apartment?"

"Oh, this is gonna be so cool! We've never lived in an apartment! Dad, what floor are we gonna be on? Do we have a terrace?!"

"Ssh," Helen said, trying to relax the twins, "We will eat then go see the apartment."

I looked around the airport, craning my neck. We were supposed to be meeting someone…

…

Thalia's POV

Today was the day! I'd been at JFK Airport for twenty minutes. The plane from California would land in fifteen minutes and my friends would be living here in the city with me! Whoo-hoo!

I was jittery and impatient, but the flight was finally announced.

"Thalia!" A male voice shouted behind me. My first friend was here.

I wrapped my arms around him.

"I'm gonna load my stuff in the car, okay?" I nodded and waved him off. One fried left – oh! There she is!

I turned as my first friend left the airport. Well, he wasn't just my friend – he was also my brother. Jason had moved here to New York, after transferring to a school his old school had recommended for him. I turned back as my second friend called out to me.

I waved my "Welcome to New York!" poster so she could find me.

Piper! Over here!"

**A/N: I never said Thalia was meeting Annabeth and Malcolm! I also never said Annabeth and Malcolm were moving to New York – so where are they?**

**Hahahahahahaha. **

**So, Thalia's friends were her brother Jason (her friends don't know she has a brother so she just said he was a friend) and this new girl Piper. Remember how she kept mentioning that she made other friends besides Malcolm and Annabeth? Piper is one such friend. **

**Also, in case you didn't catch on, Rachel likes Percy and those were her lame attempts at flirting.**

**Actually, it was my lame attempt at writing flirtatious stuff, but we're gonna pretend it was on purpose and Rachel is a bad flirt, okay?**

**And Percy is being totally oblivious. That's important. **

**Keep in mind – Jason and Piper didn't meet. It's not super important, but keep it in mind. **

**And that's it!**

**Until next time!**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	16. The Calm Before The Storm

**Chapter 16: The Calm Before The Storm**

**A/N: You might be a little confused this chapter. Just read through it, read the end author's note if you're still confused, read it again if you have to (and review). If you still don't get it, PM/review and I'll explain. But I think you'll understand.**

**There was a question in the reviews about how many chapters this would be – it's going to be thirty, including the epilogue, so… we're about halfway done. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Luke's POV

"Okay, I'll be right there." I hung up my phone conversation with Percy. Today, I was meeting my friends at Central Park and I had called to ask where exactly they all were. I made my way to the part of the park Percy said all our friends were at.

When I arrived, I saw that everyone was there. I also spotted someone I didn't recognize.

He was a blonde guy, hair cut short and out of his face, but it was just long enough to form curls on top of his head. His eyes were what caught me a little off-guard – they were a startling, intelligent gray. He noticed me looking at him and smiled.

That hair, those eyes that smile… it all looked familiar. And when I saw the girl sitting next to him, I realized who that boy reminded me of so much.

How did she- what is she doing here?!

Thalia was standing between the two. When she noticed me, she beamed and put her hands on each of their shoulders.

"Guys, this is our friend, Luke," she gestured to me, "Luke, this is Malcolm-" she motioned to the guy, "And this is-"

I interrupted, finally getting over my shock and finding my voice.

"_Annabeth?"_

…

_***Flashback – Yesterday***_

Annabeth's POV

It was our first full day in New York City. Last night, we had arrived. Our apartment was really nice and Malcolm lived right next door. I could see him even more often. It was great.

Today, Bobby and Matthew had dragged my parents out the door, eager to explore this new, exciting place. Meanwhile, Malcolm and I had managed to track Thalia's dad (she had told us the name of his company so we looked up the number online) and called him. We told him about our move and that we wanted to surprise Thalia and Grover. We asked about their whereabouts, and he said that Thalia and Grover were actually hanging out together at the mall, so we could find them both together. He gave us the address and Malcolm's dad saw us off as we hailed a cab and drove through Manhattan.

Once at the mall, we wandered around, lost for a bit, until I spotted familiar spiky black hair. We crept up behind Thalia and Grover (or who we thought were Thalia and Grover) and tackled them.

"Ah!" They cried out and whirled around. I threw my arms around her.

"Thalia!"

"Annabeth? What in the world are you doing here?!"

Grover looked too stunned to speak. Malcolm grinned.

"Surprise!"

We hugged and they marveled at our unexpected appearance until a new voice interrupted.

"Thals, they didn't have the movie we want-" the voice stopped suddenly.

"Oh!" Thalia took the new guy's wrist and pulled him towards us, "Guys! This is Percy Jackson, my cousin – I think I mentioned him to you, Annabeth – and Percy these are Malcolm and Annabeth, some cool kids we met in California."

We shook hands. Percy studied me with the most unique sea-green eyes I had ever seen. They gleamed mischievously; something about him read _troublemaker_. His hair was a black, disheveled mess on his head. He wore jeans and a T-shirt.

"So," Percy directed his sentence to Thalia, "This is Malcolm and Annie."

I glared at Thalia, who smiled sheepishly. "Annie?"

"Sorry, Annabeth, it slipped. Anyway, we're hanging out here all day – you guys can join us, if you want."

"These are the friends you were meeting at the airport yesterday, Thalia?" Percy asked.

"No," she looked at me, "Yesterday, I was meeting these other two friends of mine from California. I had no idea you were coming! I must've missed you guys, or something!"

We started to walk around, popping into different stores every now and then. Thalia asked about our being in New York.

"Are you vacationing? How long?"

"Actually," Malcolm grinned, "We moved here!"

Her eyes lit up. We entered an extended conversation about how great this all was.

Percy brought up the rear. He hung back a little, giving us space. I found myself falling back in step with him.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound friendly.

"Hi. So… you're from California."

"Uh-huh. And you're from New York."

"Yup." There was an awkward pause.

"You look Californian."

"Yeah? What makes you say that?"

"You're tall, tan and blonde."

"How is that Californian?"

He shrugged. "You look like a California beach person. Except for your eyes. They ruin the image."

I blinked. "Ruin the image? How?"

"I don't expect stereotypical California beach babes to have gray eyes."

"Who says I'm stereotypical?"

"You look stereotypical."

"Doesn't mean I am. And why can't someone from California have gray eyes?"

"It's not that they can't. It's just I would picture them having blue eyes. Gray eyes make you look all smart."

I turned to him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. Gray eyes make you look like you're smart."

"Oh, so you're saying my eyes make me look like I'm something I'm not?" He was starting to get on my nerves.

"I don't know your IQ, but seriously. You're tall, blonde, tan, blonde, Californian – and did I mention blonde? Gray eyes throw your whole image off."

I felt myself really getting angry. "My hair color has nothing to do with how smart I am! And for your information, I lived in California but I'm from Virginia!"

"You said you were from California! Don't go changing stories!"

"I said that because that's where I'm coming from but that's not where I am from!"

"Well, you should've said that! Jeez, you're bad at explaining yourself, there, Blondie!"

"Shut up!" He had me worked up. What was his deal? Who did he think he was?

"You guys alright back there?" Grover looked back worriedly.

"No," we said in unison.

The three in front of us stepped back to put space between us. I was still glaring. He was so annoying.

The rest of the day didn't go as smoothly as it could've, but I still had a good time. After Percy and Grover left, Thalia smiled at me apologetically.

"I'm sorry about my cousin. He can be really thick-headed and he just kind of blurts stuff out. He probably didn't mean to upset you – he just has the really nasty habit of not thinking before he says stuff."

I nodded, though I was still upset.

"Hey, tomorrow some of my friends are meeting at Central Park. Why don't you guys come, and I'll introduce you to our other friends, the ones we told you about?"

Malcolm and I agreed to meet her at one of the entrances of Central Park tomorrow. Percy, unfortunately, was going to be there, but so were a bunch of other people, so hopefully I could make it through the day without strangling him.

…

_***End Flashback – Present Again***_

Luke's POV

"These are the friends you were meeting at the airport from California?" I asked. Annabeth was staring at me in utter disbelief.

"Actually, no, I was meeting different friends… But I ran into these guys, the friends we talked about from California, and here they are! You know them?"

"I know her," I said nodding slowly. Then I remembered, "Oh, these are Malcolm and Annie, huh?"

Annabeth glared up at Thalia. "Really?"

"Sorry!"

"Wait a minute," Annabeth said, standing up, "Is this… Lucas?"

"Lucas?" I blinked.

"Yeah," Thalia blushed, "I meant to say 'Luke" and added the 'us' sound at the end by mistake. Well, it's great you're already friends!"

She didn't know we hadn't talked in months. I caught Percy's eye. He was flicking his gaze back and forth between Annabeth and me. He remembered what I'd told him about our rocky friendship. He tilted his head, motioning to the rest of the park, and I understood.

"Hey, Annabeth, why don't we go take a walk and catch up?"

I looked at her pointedly – it wasn't really a suggestion. She nodded slowly.

"Sure, Luke."

We started down the path in silence. It was tense.

"You didn't tell me you were moving to New York," I said, slightly annoyed.

"Nice to see you, too," she muttered, "First of all, we haven't spoken in forever. I'm supposed to just call out of the blue? 'Hey, Luke, I'm moving to New York, won't that be awesome?' And second, my dad had a job transfer but he didn't tell me where we were going so I didn't know I was coming to New York until I got on the plane."

"Oh," was all I managed. We continued on in another awkward pause.

"So, that Malcolm guy…" I trailed off. I had a bad feeling about what might be going on between those two.

"He's a friend I made in California. You know, when-" she paused, uncertain how to finish, "-when I first got there."

But I knew what she wanted to say.

_When you forgot about me._

I still felt bad about that.

"I'm so sorry, Annabeth. Honestly, I didn't mean-"

She smiled faintly. "It's okay, Luke, it's in the past now. Let's just… forget everything that happened, okay? I'm here, so why don't we just pretend all that crud never happened?"

For the first time since we started having issues, I smiled at her.

"Sounds good." We talked about all sorts of things. We caught up on everything we had missed in each other's lives, and I remembered just how much I had missed my best friend.

When we got back to the others, it had been about an hour. We had sorted everything out, agreed to star fresh, and mended our friendship.

Percy winked at me. He gave me a knowing smile. I blushed.

But Annabeth was obviously very close to this Malcolm guy, which unsettled me. Maybe they were just friends, but maybe it wouldn't stay that way for long.

…

Annabeth's POV

Thalia and I stayed at the park after the others had left. We walked around, then we left the park and strode through the darkening streets of New York City. She showed me some of the major hangout spots for her and her friends.

"So, Annabeth, what do you think of the City?"

"It's amazing! It's everything I dreamed it would be! The architecture is dazzling – I hope to design a city like this, maybe better, when I'm older."

Thalia snorted. "Nerd."

I punched her playfully. "Shut up."

"So…" she nudged me, "What'd you think of my friends?"

"They're really cool."

"And you already knew Luke. Your walk was long…what'd you guys catch up on? Life or kisses?"

I blushed. "What do you mean?"

"Did you guys talk or spend the time making out, making up for all the kisses you lost while separated?"

"Thalia! We're not dating or anything!"

"Oh? It looks like you want to be, though," she wiggled her eyebrows.

I sighed. "Okay, fine! I've had a massive crush on him since forever, but we're just friends, okay?"

She smiled triumphantly.

"You're not mad, are you?"

Thalia looked confused. "No. Why would I be?"

"Remember, you said you're into him?"

"I also said it wasn't anything major, I just think he's attractive. But if you like him – well, that's great! You guys would be perfect together!"

I nudged her. "Closet romantic."

"Shut up."

I laughed.

"But seriously, Annabeth, he's a great guy – go for it. I can help you, if you want."

"Really?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Thals."

**A/N: So, what'd you think?**

**So, what happened was Thalia had gone to the airport to meet Jason and Piper, not knowing that Annabeth and Malcolm were also coming to New York. In this chapter, Luke finds out that Annabeth is in New York and they sort things out. The day before the day in Luke's POV is the day after Annabeth came to New York. She met up with Thalia, then found Luke.**

**Cool?**

**Alright! **

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	17. Beginnings

**Chapter 17: Beginning**

**Crappy title. Sorry. I may have outlined my chapters, but not the titles… that would be smart. **

**A/N: Not much to say…**

**Review Replies:**

**Death is my daddy: So I'm a buffoon now? Honestly, I don't really like Lukabeth. But you'll get your Percabeth, hold on.**

**Livelaughloveandread: I don't know about the Thuke thing… I didn't plan on it, but if enough people want it, I guess I can throw it in.**

**That's really it.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**P.S. My spacebar has been acting up. I proofread every chapter prior to posting, but if I miss a spot, I apologize in advance for nay run-together words. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

"Annabeth! Let's go!"

"Wait! I'm coming!"

I scrambled around my room. It wasn't like me to run late. It wasn't like me to not be prepared. It wasn't like me to lose something. But we hadn't moved all that long ago; I wasn't completely settled in yet. I wanted to wear my shark tooth necklace to school but I couldn't find it. I think it's in a box with Booby's stuff because he stole it from my room shortly before leaving.

I decided my search was futile and I should just head to my first day of school.

I grabbed my backpack and ran downstairs. I hopped into the car, letting my slightly irritated dad close it behind me. I was both excited and nervous. I had plans to meet Thalia outside the school so she could help me find my class. We were in the same homeroom, along with some other of our friends. Luke was one such friend. I was excited and nervous about seeing him, too.

…

Once Thalia and I had settled down in homeroom and gotten out schedules, we looked over and classes and found we had very similar schedules. We were taking most of the same classes, except for math (I was taking an honors course while she wasn't) and the elective (Thalia got stuck in a creative writing class while I got stuck in a marine biology class instead of the interior design class I wanted.)

My first class was with Thalia. I had English and I found that Luke, Grover, and Malcolm had this class with me. We settled in and our teacher gave us an introduction and a first assignment.

"I will start you off in partners," she said, "I want you to work together on this assignment, though you both must write it down. You may pick your partners for today, so you may work with your little friends, but in the future I will be pairing you based on what I think is in your best academic interest."

Immediately, I turned to Thalia. I saw Luke and Grover pair up, leaving Malcolm awkwardly. Looking around the room, I saw we were an odd numbered group, so there would have to be a group of three. I raised my hand.

"Miss?" I forgot her name – it was hard to pronounce, "Um, we have an odd number of students so he has no partner. Can he be in our group?"

"Mmm," the teacher thought for a moment, "No. I will change you around a bit." She came over to us. She inspected our arrangements.

"What is your name?" she asked me. I knew she was asking me because she had already had Luke, Thalia, and Grover in her class before, and Malcolm was standing nervously behind her.

"Annabeth Chase."

"Ms. Chase, I want you partnered with Mr. Castellan. Mr. Underwood, I want you partnered with this young man," she took Malcolm by the shoulder and guided him to Luke, "And I want you, Ms. Grace, to work with me."

Thalia made a face. I couldn't tell if she was upset that the teacher had used her last name or if she didn't like the idea of having to work with the teacher.

"But-"

"Ms. Grace, I know how easily distracted you are. I want you working with me so I may keep an eye on you."

Thalia sighed but obeyed. Luke scooted next to me.

"Hey, partner."

I blushed.

"Hi, Luke." He smiled. I already felt nervous. I realized my feelings for Luke were more than what I had admitted to Thalia. I had more than a massive crush on him. This was gonna make things complicated…

The teacher came by and placed a rose in front of us. Our assignment was to describe it, using our five senses.

"So…" Luke started, "A rose is… red."

"That is a great adjective, Mr. Castellan," I smirked. It was mostly in attempt to hide my fluster.

"Well, then, you come up with something, genius," he handed me the rose.

"Um…" I studied it carefully, "A rose is… fragile."

Luke nodded. "That's good," he wrote it down.

We continued throwing words around. I couldn't stop staring at him. His blonde hair was in place and shiny. His crystal blue eyes were light and beautiful. His smile was kind and white and reflected his great personality. He was so perfect…

"Annabeth?"

I jumped. "Huh?"

"We need two more words." He was looking at me with worry.

"Oh, uh… beauteous and fragrant."

He wrote those down.

"Are you okay, Annabeth? You seem… nervous."

"What? N-no, no, I'm fine, really."

The bell rang. The teacher informed us that we could keep the roses.

"You can keep it," Luke smiled at me, presenting it to me with a bow, "a lovely rose for my lovely rose."

I blushed furiously, accepting the flower. He smiled again and left the classroom.

I stood, frozen for a bit, until Thalia jabbed me in the ribs, a knowing smile on her face.

…

My next class was marine biology, which I wasn't really looking forward to, since it wasn't of particular interest to me. I scanned the room and I found I didn't know any of the students. I picked a seat in the middle of the classroom.

Once the bell rang, the teacher told us that we would be working in partners. I found it interesting that our teachers wanted to pair us up, but I didn't think much of it. This teacher decided to pair us up himself.

"-Silena Beauregard and Charles Beckondorf, Annabeth Chase and Perseus Jackson-"

My head snapped up. Who?

I looked around, trying to locate this Perseus guy, when I realized I did know someone in this class. Percy was glaring at me dangerously from across the room. That's when it came to me – he must be Perseus, so we're partners. I didn't know 'Percy' was a nickname.

Despite my disagreement with the pairing, I moved my books aside, waiting for him to come over. He didn't. I looked over at him and saw that he was expecting me to get up and move to him, just as I was expecting him to move to me. He raised an eyebrow.

I shook my head and motioned to my desk. He shook his head and glared at me challengingly. We stared at each other until the teacher interrupted.

"Ms. Chase? Mr. Jackson? Care to begin the assignment?"

Neither of us responded. He sighed.

"Mr. Jackson, be a gentleman and join Ms. Chase.'

Percy huffed. He took his things and plopped into the chair next to me. I smirked at him triumphantly.

"So, Perseus, huh? Interesting name."

He blushed. "Shut up. Don't use it."

"Why not, Perseus? It's a great name."

"Shut up! My family has a thing for Greek mythology, okay?"

He was clearly irritated. _Good._

"Let's just get this done." I opened my book and looked at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Open your book."

"No."

I clenched my jaw. "Why not?"

"I don't need to."

"Of course you do. How else will you know what to write?"

"Just read out loud."

"No, I'm not your maid."

"You're the one anxious to do this work, brainiac, so hop to it. Start reading."

"You read. It's your work, too. Why do I have to?"

He gritted his teeth. "If you must know, I'm dyslexic."

"Oh," I started to feel a little bad, "Why didn't you just say so?"

"Sorry for not giving you a run-through of my life. Would you like my social security number, too?"

I didn't feel bad anymore.

"You know what? Forget it. I'm doing this work on my own. You can figure it out yourself."

"You're a great partner."

"Shut up!"

"Ms. Chase and Mr. Jackson! Get to work!"

I hated that guy.

Percy, not the teacher.

…

My third class was history. I was glad to go to a class of interest after having to deal with Percy last period.

Again, I looked for anyone I knew, but this time, I made sure to ouble-check.

I sat down next to a girl with choppy brown hair that looked like she'd tried cutting it herself.

"Hey," I said. Might as well try to make some friends.

She looked up. "Hi."

She was very pretty. Her skin was even-toned and flawless. Her eyes were like a kaleidoscope, sparkling and changing in the light so I wasn't sure what color they were.

"I'm Piper McLean," she stuck her hand out.

I shook it. "Annabeth Chase."

"I'm new," I ventured, "I moved here from California."

"Really? Me, too! My dad had a job offer here. And I know someone here, so he thought it would all work."

"Does your friend go to school here?"

"Yup! Her name's Thalia. I met her when she was vacationing in California."

"Oh! Me, too! I know her. Ohhh." It dawned on me.

Piper blinked. "What?"

"See, my arrival was a surprise. But the day I arrived, Thalia said she was meeting a friend at the airport – that must've been you."

She shrugged. "Must've been."

We talked for a little while longer until class started.

I really liked Piper. We could be really good friends.

…

After two more classes, I had lunch. Fortunately, Piper was there and Thalia introduced her to everyone else. Unfortunately, Percy was naturally there, too. Also unfortunately, he and Luke seemed to be really good friends.

I went with Piper to the lunch line. We figured out the system together and headed back to our table. On the way, someone called out to Piper.

"Hold on, Annabeth, I'll be right there. I met this girl in my fashion class and she seems really nice." I nodded and she left. I smiled to myself.

Piper got stuck in a fashion class. The elective she had wanted was full. She was not happy about it, since Piper cared about everything but what she wore.

I walked over to our table. I could see that Percy didn't look happy. He was shaking his head, but Thalia held up her hand. He glared at her.

When Thalia saw me, she beamed.

"Annabeth! So, we were talking, and- where's Piper?"

"She's talking to a girl form one of her classes, she said she'll be right back."

"Oh, okay, cool. So, anyway, we were talking, and we decided we want to invite you to our favorite hangout."

"We?" Percy muttered. He snorted. "Who says I agreed?"

"Hush," Thalia turned back to me, "It's this really cool place, though it's kind of secret, our own little thing. It's called Club Half-Blood. What do you say?"

It did sound pretty cool, though I wasn't sure what kind of club they meant…

"I'm in."

**A/N: So nothing really important, but I needed to establish her crush on Luke, her dislike of Percy, her friendship with Piper, and that she's going to the club. **

**And that English assignment was my first English assignment, too. **

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	18. Weird Feelings

**Chapter 18: Weird Feelings**

**A/N: Hey! New Chapter!**

**Special thanks to ApplesauceAuthor for pointing out my…uh… ahem… **_**error**_** last chapter… that's awkward…**

**Did no one else catch it? Because no one else commented. Then again, I got, like, four reviews… **

**Anyway, thank you! I'd go back and fix it but.. Hey, the story's rated T, right? ;) **

**If you missed it, it's a typo in the beginning of the chapter – instead of Bobby, I wrote something else. **

**That's really it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. **

**P.S. All the 'studies' that I mention are totally made up. I have no idea how true they are. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

I stepped out of the shower and dried off my hair. I pulled on some jeans and a brown shirt, slipping my feet into a pair of red high-top Converse. I grabbed my phone and keys, stuffing them into my pocket, and headed downstairs.

"Are you excited, Annabeth?" Helen smiled at me, placing a plate of pancakes in front of me.

I smiled back. "Very."

My dad frowned. "And what was the name of the place?"

"Club Half-Blood."

He frowned a little deeper into his mug of fresh coffee. "That doesn't sound good…"

I sighed. "Dad, I already told you – it's not like a nightclub or a strip club. It's a club for kids interested in Greek mythology. They can go and pretend they're half-bloods, children of the gods, heroes, and they can roleplay through video games. It actually sounds really cool – and not age inappropriate – and anyway, statistics show that imaginative play is a great way for children and young adults to express themselves, learn about themselves, and relieve stress."

"Mmm. Studies also show that too much involvement in the surreal, as in videogames, can alter a child or young adult's psychology."

Ugh. He got me there.

"Enough, Frederick," Helen scolded, "She's not going to be there for 12hours every day! And she will be interacting with other people – live – and have the opportunity to socialize. I believe studies show that it is important for young adults to have face-to-face social interaction with peers. It can help keep that 'psychology alteration' from happening. And what better place to socially interact than a club where she'll meet people with a common interest?"

I smiled. We were starting to rub off on Helen.

Dad sighed. "I suppose… Well, then, let's get going."

We weren't going to the club right now. Thalia said it was the most fun at night because the most people came (that fact made Dad suspicious about where we were really going). I was going to hang out at her place until later that night.

…

We arrived at the club at seven-thirty, when, according to Thalia, the most people would be starting their nigh.

"Okay, Annabeth, so here's how it works – you have to go in there and earn your place. See, this club is pretty exclusive for a free-membership place. Not just anyone gets in here. You have to pass a test."

"What kind of test?"

She smiled slyly. "The club is mostly virtual. The test is an obstacle course that you must complete to get in. It's in the form of a video game, like most of the club. Your high score has to be high enough for you to get in."

I nodded. "Souds good."

"So, in the game, you're battling a monster from Greek mythology. Then, if your score is high enough, you become a half-blood and you take a personality quiz to determine your 'godly parent'."

"Alright, cool."

Thalia grinned. "Let's get started."

…

It turned out my mom was Athena, goddess of wisdom and war. Funny, my real mom's name was Athena… I wonder…

Nah.

After I had gotten my card, shield, and sword, Thalia led me to the training grounds. I could see through a clear wall that two kids were battling each other. It was pretty intense, and really awesome. I was ready to try.

"Whoa, there!" Thalia laughed, "I'm hungry. Let's get dinner first, and then we can start you off on a basic, okay?"

I sighed, a little disappointed, but my stomach growled in agreement. We headed for the cafeteria.

A lot of Thalia's friends from the park were there. And to my surprise, Malcolm was there, too.

"Annabeth! I didn't know you were coming here!" He grinned at me.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot to tell you he was coming, Annabeth," Thalia shrugged, "Grover invited him and here he is. Who's your parent?"

Malcolm looked excited. "Athena!"

"Really? Me, too!" I wasn't all that surprised, though.

Thalia coughed. "Nerds."

"Shut up. You're just jealous."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Come on, Annabeth, let's chow."

We grabbed some food and sat again at the table. I was chatting with a girl named Katie. She was a Demeter kid. She was sweet and we had some things in common. Our conversation was going great, until someone interrupted.

"Hey, Katie-Kat."

Katie looked like she was going to hit him.

"What do you want, Stoll?"

He grinned. "Just came to say hi to my favorite gal."

"Go away, Travis."

"Not until you agree to give me something," he tapped his cheek.

Katie looked up, then punched him where his finger had been.

"Ah!"

"Happy?"

"Ugh…" He wandered off. I smiled at Katie. I liked her style.

"Hey, guys! Hey, Annabeth, Malcolm!"

I felt myself getting nervous as I looked up at Luke. He smiled at me, and I blushed.

I was about to say something, when I noticed the girl standing next to him.

She was beautiful. Her hair was perfect. Her makeup was flawless, and her face was probably also flawless underneath it. And she was standing really close to Luke.

My stomach dropped.

"Hi," she said to me, smiling a dazzling smile, "I'm Silena, Aphrodite cabin."

I shook her hand. It was soft and wasn't dry, and her fingernails were manicured. "Annabeth. Athena cabin."

She nodded, but something passed her eyes. Disdain?

I tried to shake it off. I looked back at Luke. He raised his eyebrows at me.

"Athena – nice."

Silena sat next to him, delicately resting a hand on his arm.

"So, Luke, you didn't answer my question."

He blushed at her touch, and it darkened at her words. "Oh… um, no, I'm not busy Saturday."

I gritted my teeth. Seriously?

I'd been dropping hints for weeks since I got here, for years since I've known him. But he didn't notice me. He noticed Silena, though… Maybe he wasn't oblivious.

Maybe he just didn't like me. I started to feel worse.

"I have to use the bathroom."

I stood. I wanted to be alone, but then I realized I didn't know where the bathroom was. Reluctantly, I turned to Thalia.

"Can you show me where it is?"

She nodded and led me away from the table.

"You okay?"

"Did you see him? I've been doing that for years, and he never notied, but he certainly noticed her!"

"Annabeth," Thalia rested her hand on my shoulder, "Guys can be like that. For all you know, he does have feelings for you, he's just afraid to share them. So just chill out and give it time."

I didn't quite believe her, but I took a deep breath and nodded anyway.

…

Later that night, after a few trial matches with Thalia, I decided to walk around by myself and just learn my way around. I heard the sounds of a game in one of the rooms. That was strange. Normally, it was so loud with music or chatter, that couldn't be heard. I decided to look.

Someone was in an individual training room, a room for one person training alone. No one was around. I watched the person.

Whoever it was, they were really good. Their body moved swiftly, they had even moves.

This person was the absolute best I'd ever seen and had me mesmerized.

Then he turned around. He raised an eyebrow.

"Can I help you?"

It was Percy.

He pressed a button, letting me come into the room.

"You're really good."

He looked over at me skeptically.

"Yeah?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, let's see you, Chase."

I felt a little nervous, but I agreed. As I practiced, he went easy on me and taught me different techniques. It was actually kind of nice.

"So," he said, "Tell me about yourself."

I thought it was a little random and out of nowhere, but I decided to comply. Why not? I shrugged. "What do you want to know?"

"Here, I'll go first, then you just tell me the same stuff."

"Alright."

"Well, I was born and raised here in Manhattan, New York. I've lived here my whole life. Uh, my favorite color is blue. My dad was lost at sea shortly after I was born"

"I'm sorry."

He smiled. "For my dad or for cutting in?"

I smiled back. Then I remembered something. "I thought your dad funds this place?"

"Oh, yeah, he does. Like I said, he got _lost_ at sea – he didn't actually die, though. He was severely wounded, but he's better now."

I blinked. As far as I knew, 'lost at sea' usually meant the person died, but I let him continue.

"Anyway, I like to skateboard and I like helping out in the kitchen sometimes. I love to swim – I'm captain of our varsity swim team. I love the beach. I love the ocean. I'm taking marine biology because that's what I want to do. It's my passion. It I guess it makes sense that my parent is Poseidon. Which, coincidentally, is my dad's name." He looked up at me. "Your turn."

I nodded. "I was born in Virginia. I then moved to California and now I'm here. My favorite color is gray. My parents divorced when I was seven. I haven't seen her since." I glance at him. He only gave me a sympathetic look and nodded for me to keep going.

"I like to read and I like to play volleyball. I like ancient history, especially from Greece, so I really like this place a lot. I love architecture. I love to study it and I like designing stuff of my own sometimes. I want to be an architect when I'm older. My mom is Athena, which is pretty appropriate."

He nodded, then grinned up at me. "So you're a nerd, then?"

For some reason, it annoyed me more coming from him then from Thalia.

"No. I'm intelligent, but that doesn't make me a nerd."

"Just because you took off the glasses and braces doesn't mean you're not a nerd anymore."

"I never wore glasses and braces!" He was starting to set me off. "And at least my brain works, Mr. 'You-Read-I'm-Dyslexic!"

That might've been a little too much. A flash of hurt crossed his eyes but he recovered quickly.

"At least I'm not a freaky loser who can't make friends!"

"I have friends!" I had a feeling he wasn't talking about here in New York. I remembered he was friends with Luke. How much had Luke told him?

"You know what? You're probably not dyslexic – that's probably how the doctors interpret the fact that you just have a wad of kelp in that head of yours, Seaweed Brain!"

He raised an eyebrow. "Seaweed Brain? Nobody likes a smart aleck, Wise Girl. No wonder you don't have friends."

I raised an eyebrow at the name Was that his best?

"You know, 'cause it's like Wise Guy, but you're a girl…?

"Yeah, I got that, Seaweed Brain," I snapped.

HE rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

He turned to the screen. He set it for another training round.

I started to walk away, but I couldn't help myself. I looked back as he started to train again. He really was good.

I got a feeling in the pit of my stomach, a little twinge. It felt familiar, kind of like when I looked at Luke…

No, it had to be something else. Percy was nothing like Luke.

It must've just been grudging admiration or something.

Right?

**A/N: Just in case you're not sure, Annabeth is starting to have feelings for Percy but refuses to recognize that. **

**I'm going to be away next week, so no new updates until at earliest Friday afternoon. **

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	19. The Start of Something New

**Chapter 19: The Start of Something New**

**(Yeah, I went there. I'm sorry, it's the first title I thought of and it kind of works so… don't judge.)**

**A/N: Hey! Sorry, I know I'm late. Last week I was away and then this week I lost my iPod charger, which is where I have the outline to this entire story, and my battery died, so I couldn't access the notes for this chapter, and I didn't remember at all what I was planning to do. But I found my charger, so we're all good now. **

**So this chapter is kind of short and nothing really special – it's not majorly important, but I needed to buy some time. So, this is a little more of a filler chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

I walked into my marine biology class. It was Monday morning and I was running late. I managed to slip into class before the bell. Unfortunately, the only seat available was left next to Annabeth.

With a sigh, I plopped down next to her.

The teacher started his lesson, and announced he would be assigning an in-class project that would be due next week. Once again, he was going to partner us up.

"Okay, guys, let's make this easy – turn to the person next to you."

I looked to my left as Annabeth looked up at me. We blinked, and I quickly turned to my other side. But the guy on my right had already partnered up with the kid on his other side.

"Mr. Jackson, Ms. Chase, it looks like you're partners again. Get to work."

"Uggggghhhhhhh," Annabeth let out a much exaggerated groan. I rolled my eyes.

"Let's just get started on what we're doing."

"So, what do you want our project to be?"

I thought about it. I looked up at Annabeth as she scanned the board for project ideas. Even though I'd had the weekend to cool off, her comment from last Friday still stung.

_At least my brain works. _

I found myself frowning as Annabeth pointed out a possible project. She read from the board.

"Collect a sample from five different water sources. Examine them under a microscope and describe what you see. Perform different tests to identify such characteristics as salinity and pH of the water. Pick two samples and make a Venn diagram, comparing and contrasting what you find in each. Make a list of where you might find that kind of water and what living organisms you might find in such body of water.' Sounds simple."

"I thought this was an in-school project – where are we supposed to get the water samples?"

She rolled her eyes. "From the teacher, Seaweed Brain."

"How was I supposed to know that?"

"It says so on the board…" She trailed off awkwardly. She glanced at me.

"I'm sorry about what I said on Friday. I was angry, and I don't think straight when I'm mad. I didn't mean to hurt you like that."

I shook my head. "It's fine. Why do we always fight, anyway?"

"I don't know, but if we're going to do this project without killing each other, it has to stop."

"Agreed. Okay, so I'll go get the samples."

When I returned, Annabeth had set up a microscope. She looked at the vials in my hand.

"Wait, those aren't labeled. How do we know which came from where?"

"He changed the project a little. When he got the samples, he forgot to label them, so he wants us to read the chart on page 25, which describes different bodies of water. He wants to try identifying the samples based on what they look like, their salinity, and pH."

"Okay, why don't we describe them first, then look at the chart?"

I nodded, and we started.

"Hold on," I said, "Before we look at the chart, I want to guess where each sample comes from."

She looked at me quizzically.

"Hey, if I want to do this for a living, I should know what I'm working with."

She nodded, and I took my best guess. Annabeth opened her book. I was right.

'Wow, you're good at this," she looked up at me, "You're smarter than you come off as."

"So I come off as stupid?"

She smirked. "A little."

"As long as I don't come off as nerdy."

There was a slight tension, and I was worried I'd said the wrong thing, but Annabeth decided not to take what I said seriously.

"Whatever."

"So…" I held my hand out. "Partners, right?"

She shook my hand firmly. "Partners."

"I'm still gonna call you Wise Girl, though."

"Well, I'm still gonna call you Seaweed Brian."

I laughed. "Will do."

**Annabeth's POV**

"Hey, Annabeth!"

I stepped through the doorway.

"Hi, Piper!"

Piper had asked me to come over for a sleepover. When I gave her a weird look, she rolled her eyes and promised me it wasn't going to be one of those let's-do-our-nails-and-gossip-about-boys sleepovers. Once I was convinced, I agreed.

"You can set your stuff down right here." She patted the floor next to her own sleeping bag. We had gone downstairs to Piper's basement, where she'd set up the DVD player, a comfy arrangement of pillows, blankets, comforters, cushions, and beanbags, and a pile of candy and junk food. I usually tried to eat somewhat healthy, but tonight, that went out the window.

"So," Piper rifled through a stack of DVDs, "What do you want to watch?"

I opened a nearby pizza box and helped myself to a slice. We made a movie selection and pressed PLAY.

Halfway into he movie, Piper's phone buzzed. She scrambled around, trying to find it.

"Whoa, Piper, who is it? Why are you so anxious to find it?"

"Help me!" was her response.

I set down my bowl of Ben & Jerry's and started moving bowls of popcorn, bags of Skittles and Sour Patch Kids, and lifting up a blue Smuggie. We paused the movie to continue our frantic search more efficiently, as I would pause and sit back on my heels to watch every now and then until Piper flung a panda Pillow Pet at me.

"Got it!" She screamed triumphantly.

She unlocked her phone, then groaned in disappointment.

"Ugh, it's just my dad. He went to pick up some stuff at the store and wanted to know if we need anything."

"Actually, while he's there, some more Kool-Aid would be nice."

"It's just colored sugar water. We could make it here."

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be authentic."

She rolled her eyes as she typed a reply. "Aren't we a little old for Kool-Aid?"

I just stuck out my tongue.

"So, who did you think it was?"

She blushed. "Uh, no one."

"You don't pause a good movie and make me stop eating good ice cream to search around on my hands and knees for nothing. I missed the best line and my ice cream melted, so you better hope it was worth it."

She sighed. "I gave my number to some guy in class today. No big deal."

I scooted closer. I'm not a gossip girl or anything, but seriously – a whole bowl of Cheesecake Brownie, gone to waste.

"Which guy?"

"Um, his name's Jason Grace."

"Oh my gods!" Jason Grace! "What do you mean 'no big deal'?"

"Why is it so huge?"

"Well, for starters, you practically turned over this whole place just to see if he texted, and second of all – he's Thalia's brother!"

Her eyes widened. "What?!"

"His name's Jason Grace. What did you think it meant?"

"I-I I don't know, I just didn't think of that! Oh my gods, what is she gonna think?"

"Aww, she won't care. She thinks it's time he got a girlfriend so he'll have something to do instead of hover around her, being obnoxious."

"I didn't know she had a brother."

"I didn't, either, but she said that he actually flew in the same time you did."

She blushed a little darker.

"So you gave him your number?"

"Yeah, today in class, and I'm hoping he'll ask me out or something. I'd do it myself, but, I'm too nervous. I'll wait to see if he says anything, and if he doesn't, then maybe I'll text him."

I nodded. I wasn't entirely following her story but I was pretty sure she was trying a loose hard-to-get method. At that point, I kind of lost interest, though, so I reached for my bowl of what was now soup.

"Okay," I wanted to drop the girly conversation and return to the movie.

But Piper seemed to have started to warm up to where this was going.

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Have you given your number to any special guy today?"

I snorted. "No."

"No? I think you did."

"To who?"

"Maybe… Percy?"

I looked up at her indignantly. "Nuh-uh!"

She wiggled her eyebrows. "Yeah, I think so."

"Why do you think that?"

"I dunno. You guys tease each other a lot at lunch. You even have petnames for each other."

"They're not petnames, they're… well, they were meant as insults, initially."

"Wise Girl' is an insult?"

"It's supposed to be like calling someone a wise guy, but I'm a girl."

"See? You even backup his lame insults."

"That doesn't mean I like him!"

"I think you do."

"No, I do not like that brainless, clumsy, close-minded oaf."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Ooh! I know someone!"

I sighed. This was the kind of thing I was trying to avoid.

"Do you like Luke?"

I immediately blushed, giving myself away.

"You do! Oh my gods!"

"It's not that big of a deal."

"Yes it is! That's great! He's so amazing! Have you given him your number?"

"He already has it." I gave her the long story short about our history.

"Oh, wow."

"I doubt he likes me, though."

"Don't say that."

"All these years, he hasn't noticed."

She nodded slowly. "And you know Silena?"

"Yeah…" She noticed my expression and saw that I already knew why she brought her up.

"Well, she's the girl in my fashion class… and she really likes him…"

"I know," it came out a little harsher than I meant it to.

"Yeah…"

"Do you know if they're…?" I let the question hang.

"Um, they've hung out a couple times, but not, like, actual dates or anything."

I groaned. Piper rested her hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, it's okay Annabeth. Everything'll work out, you'll see."

I hugged her, grateful for her comfort.

After a few seconds, I pulled back.

"Okay, we're done with this."

She laughed. "Ready to go back to our not-cliché sleepover?"

"Definitely."

**A/N: Okay, took a long time, it's short and not my best – sorry, but I needed to make some time between the last event and the next, and I had to establish some things.**

**In case you're unsure, Percy and Annabeth are starting to become friends. They're warming up to each other. **

**Also, I needed you guys to know that Piper and Jason will be included in this story, (should I bring in Reyna troubles or not even bother? Would that be too much?). You needed to know that even though Annabeth is starting to like Percy, she's still sort of in denial and sill really likes Luke. And I needed to make sure you guys knew that Luke and Silena aren't actually dating or anything. **

**That's really it. **

**R&R!**

**- Promise **


	20. Parent Trap

**Chapter 20: Parent Trap (In Which the Parents Trap the Kids)**

**As in, instead of the kids switching and confusing the parents, the parents pull off something that throws off the kids completely. **

**A/N: Hey guys! I realize this is a late update, but school started and my teachers have loaded the homework. I wanted to finish this story before the end of summer vacation, but that didn't happen. So, updates won't come as quickly, but remember, my whole story is outlined – I only have to actually type it, so no worries about disappearing for six months due to writer's block. Plus, I have a two-day school week this week (Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah) so I'll try to dish out as many chapters as I can. If I can get out, like, five, then I'll only have five left, so maybe I'll be done by the end of September…**

**Anyway… Whoo! Important chapter time! Okay, so we've finally reached the plot twist! It kind of changes a lot, at least for two of the characters. **

**So get ready!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO.**

**P.S. I don't know how well strawberries in a greenhouse would grow in New York… but just bear with me, here.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

"Aphrodite! It's Aphrodite!"

It was Friday again. Last Friday and its events were long forgotten. I was hanging out at the club with my friends, glad that the school week was over. I was having fun with some of the guys when some of the girls came around.

Annabeth and Thalia ran over, dragging Piper between them. She looked bewildered and a little flustered, but there was a smile on her face.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down," Luke went over to them, lightly pulling Annabeth and Thalia off of poor Piper, "What do you mean?"

"Her mom's Aphrodite!" Annabeth snatched the shiny new membership card out of Piper's hand and wave it around. Piper made a face.

"I don't have anything in common with her!"

"According to the quiz you do," Thalia said smugly. She turned to us, "Chiron said that the computer will occasionally and randomly assign a kid to a parent who really doesn't fit their personality quiz – Piper doesn't seem like an Aphrodite kid, unless you really stretch the details, and that's what the computer did. It doesn't happen a lot, but Chiron says the computer does that sometimes, to mix it up, you know?"

Piper groaned, but she smiled as she lifted her sword.

"So who wants to train with me?"

We all took turns helping out Piper, but she didn't seem to like the sword much. Annabeth decided to let Piper try her dagger (no, swords aren't the only controllers for the video games) and Piper decided she'd rather have a knife. Annabeth said she'd take her to see Chiron about it later.

"Hey, Percy," Piper said, "I heard you're pretty good-"

"Pretty good?" Conner interrupted, "Try pretty friggin' awesome!"

"-so could you help train me?"

"Sure, Pipes."

I taught Piper different techniques for different situations. Then, I set her up with one of the video games and let her practice in a set scenario.

As Piper tried to kill the emousa, Annabeth and I slipped into the next training room to get some practice of our own.

"As long as you keep training her, she'll get really good," Annabeth commented as we set up out session.

"You're good, too – besides, I have no experience with knife, so she's better off learning from you."

"We can both help her. I'm just glad she's here."

We sparred in silence. Ever since we made our little truce, we'd been getting closer. I found myself wanting to do more and more with her, like study together, go to movies, to lunch, and especially train. It must've been obvious how eager I always was to hang out with her, because my mom started calling our get-togethers 'dates'. They were not dates, though. I wished they were…

Wait, what?

_She's just a friend_, I told myself.

A really pretty friend, with princess curls, and stunning eyes, and a beautiful smile, and a laugh that made me feel fuzzy-headed, and-

Whoa. Calm down.

_She's just a friend. _

But I couldn't help but wish she was a little more.

…

Annabeth's POV

"Annabeth, let's go!"

"I'm coming, hold your pegasi!"

Malcolm was banging on the door from the other side. We were supposed to be meeting our parents for lunch in the park after a morning at the club.

Even though the club has a lot of donors, it still needs a little extra money. So, as the members, we are required to do a little fundraising. Chiron keeps a greenhouse in the club's backyard, where he grows strawberries. One of our club activities is a required volunteer-work session at the club, five hours a week. We have to help pick and pack strawberries for sale around the city. It's called Delphi Strawberry Service, and it helps keep our club running. Malcolm and I had just finished our last two hours for the week, plus an extra one.

I had gone to my locker in the Athena area to get my knife to show one of the clubbers who was interested in getting one. I was putting it away, but I couldn't get my locker open.

"Malcolm! Come help me! It's stuck!"

HE sighed and came in. He tried my locker but it wouldn't budge.

"Hmm," he muttered, "It looks like the lock's been tampered with… Ah, it looks like Stoll-brother work to me."

"I'm gonna kill them," I seethed. We were running late, so we decided to ask Chiron to keep it safe for me in his office. We hailed a cab and headed to Central Park.

…

"Annabeth, Malcolm! There you are! We were getting worried!" Helen rushed over to us. She started examining us carefully, head to toe.

"Helen, clam down. The swords are fake – we still have ten fingers, ten toes each."

"She smiled. "Well, what did take you so long?"

I explained my locker situation as I sat at the picnic table, taking a plate and helping myself to the food.

"You can get that fixed, right?"

"Yeah, no problem."

"We don't have to pay for it, do we?" My dad added, suddenly alarmed.

I shook my head. "No, no."

"Now that we're all here," Malcolm's dad smiled over at us, "Let's eat!"

We ate and talked, laughed and had a good time. When we finished eating, we grabbed a Frisbee and played out on the grass. It felt weird, actually spending time with my family. I had never really done that before, but I found I liked it.

After a few more cheesy picnic games, we settled down for a special dessert treat. Helen produced a fresh chocolate-fudge cake, still warm (somehow) and oozing goodness. She also pulled out a mini cooler, which held a carton of vanilla ice cream that had not yet melted.

As dessert was handed out and we began to enjoy it, I noticed someone approaching us.

It was a woman.

She had dark hair that curled around her face. She was tall and wore a crisp, new business suit. She carried a briefcase. She was wearing sunglasses.

I nudged Malcolm. "Who is that and why is she coming this way?"

Everyone looked up. I heard a gasp. Two, actually.

The woman had pushed up her sunglasses. Her eyes were a stormy gray.

Both my dad and Malcolm's had their mouths wide open, staring in sheer disbelief at the woman. Helen and my brothers looked confused – clearly, they didn't know who she was.

I looked at Malcolm. He turned his head to look at the woman. When he saw her, recognition flickered across his face. His features twisted in a varied range of emotions. He knew this woman and he was shocked and – angry? – to see her again. Then I took a good look at her and I realized that I knew her, too.

It was an old memory stowed away, unused, in the depths of my mind, but there was definitely something familiar about that face. I just couldn't place it with a name…

Then it hit me. Malcolm reacted at the same time I did.

"Mom?" We said in unison.

**A/N: There it is! Now that I've typed it, I guess it's not really a twist since in the series they have the same mom anyway, and you probably saw it coming… Oh, well! I was pretty proud of it! **

**So I guess the real twist is how this all makes sense. In the series, she's an immortal being – we don't know how she can have kids so close in age, but hey, she's a goddess.**

**Here, though, I had to change their ages a little and tweak the timeline so it would make sense. I had to find a way to fit in a nine-month pregnancy period for both kids and still make them as close in age as possible – believe me, that was no easy task. I took, like, three days figuring that out… But I got it, and I think it works! So you'll see what happened!**

**If you didn't catch on, Percy is having feelings for Annabeth (as we know Annabeth does for Percy).**

**Short chapter, but important. **

**I have one last 'twist' up my sleeve – again, it's not the event itself that' surprising (since it happens in the series because I'm trying to stick as much to it as possible) but it's the way I'm doing it. I've seen the actual character in lots of stories, but not the way I'm doing it! If you go back and read the summary, you can probably guess the character I'm introducing that will help screw things up a little.**

**Can you guess?**

**R&R!**

**- Promise **


	21. Forgive and Forget

**Chapter 21: Forgive and Forget**

**A/N: Hey, het! Time to learn about Malcolm and Annabeth's mom! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

**Annabeth's POV**

"Mom?" We said in unison.

Now I was confused. I stared at Malcolm. We continued to speak at the same time.

"Your mom? She's my mom! No, she's my mom! How can she be your mom?! MOM!"

We turned to her, completely dumbfounded. Meanwhile, our dads were looking, horrified, between each other, us, and the woman who had just come over. My dad also looked at Helen, Bobby, and Matthew, who had bewildered expressions. Helen looked a little upset at seeing Dad's ex-wife.

"Everyone, please, calm down. Take a deep breath." Mom raised her hands, trying to settle everyone down.

"What are you doing here, Athena?" Dad said. His tome was clipped and business-like.

She sighed. "I just wanted to explain." She turned to us. She had the nerve to smile. "Malcolm, Annabeth. Oh, you've grown so much. The last time I saw you…"

"Are you going to explain to me why you left or not?" Malcolm's ears were red. Clearly, he was outraged. Athena's smile faded.

"Malcolm, sweetie… I know you're especially angry… Please, just hear me out."

Malcolm crossed his arms over his chest. He straightened his spine. His expression read _'this better be good'._

Athena took a deep breath before beginning the story.

"I was born and raised in Greece. Malcolm, Annabeth, I don't know if I ever told you that. Like many others, my dream was to come see America. I made arrangements and came to New York; I studied at NYU. I made a life for myself, in New York, as an architect. I was given a project in San Francisco. I decided I would move there and remain there, even after the project was completed. There, I met your father, Malcolm." She paused to look at him.

Malcolm shifted uncomfortably.

"We had a sweet, loving relationship and planned to get married. But your father was very busy. His work really got in the way of a lot of things, but so did his other activities. I could understand that his job was keeping him occupied, but whenever he had a few moment, he would go out with his friends. I rarely saw him." She stopped again.

"You should've talked to me," Malcolm's dad said coldly, "And I didn't neglect you like that, don't lie to him. We should've talked, you didn't need to cheat on me!"

Athena patiently held up a hand.

"Anyway, our wedding was a few weeks away, but I wasn't feeling the excitement I should've been. I decided to take a little vacation, by myself. I stayed at a hotel and took a few days off work. I went to a college seminar and there, Annabeth, I met _your_ father."

"Wait a minute!" My dad looked alarmed, "Y-you mean, when we started dating, you were _engaged?!_ Athena! You were in a relationship already?! H-how could you – I'm so sorry!" He whipped around to face Malcolm's dad, who just shook his head; it wasn't my dad's fault. He didn't know and hadn't meant to do harm. He had nothing to apologize for.

"I'm sorry, Frederick," Athena said softly, "We'll discuss that later, if you wish. But right now, I am focusing on Malcolm and Annabeth."

_First time in years. _

"So, yes, I started a relationship while I was already in a relationship. Well, Malcolm, your father caught me. Your dad, Annabeth, didn't notice. Malcolm, your dad and I called off the wedding and split. I left to be with Frederick, your father stayed in our previously shared apartment. Shortly after moving in with your dad, Annabeth, who I had no intention of telling about my previous relationship, I found out I was pregnant. With you, Malcolm. I decided not to tell Frederick. I was sure it was your father's, Malcolm, but I didn't want Frederick to panic. I decided to not say anything and hopefully I could come up with a plan before I started to show.

"I was still working on my project for my architectural firm in New York. Your father, Annabeth, was also in California for a project, though his was much shorter. Two or three months into my pregnancy, when Frederick still didn't know, he was going back home to Virginia. He proposed to me, and I accepted. But I couldn't go with him, as I had to finish my project. I told him to go back and I would join him for our wedding in a year. In that time, we could plan our wedding, talking over the phone. It was also a good thing for me because I could have you, Malcolm, and not have Frederick find out. So that's what I did."

Athena took another deep breath. Her eyes were watering.

"Oh, Malcolm, it was so hard. I thought that after I had you, I could stay a few months, two or three, and move to Virginia. But it was so much harder than I thought. When I had you, and held you for the first time, I thought it would be impossible to ever let you go. But I had to. So I stayed three months, and a year after Frederick left, so did I. I cried. It hurt so much. I couldn't bare it. But I forced myself to. You stayed with your father."

She dabbed at her eyes. I could see in Malcolm's eyes that he was slightly moved, but the rest of his body language was still as hard as stone. Athena didn't _have to move_; she could've found a different way to solve the problem. It would've been hard, but if she'd really wanted to stay with Malcolm, she could've done it.

"I got to Virginia. I married your father, almost immediately when I arrived, Annabeth. I ended up getting pregnant on our honeymoon, only three months after you were born, Malcolm. That is how you two are only a year apart. I literally had you both about as close as is humanly possible without you being twins. Annabeth, when you were born, I was a bit depressed. You reminded me of the little baby boy I left behind in California. You had blonde hair and the same gray eyes. I never forgot about you, Malcolm, but I learned to live with my reality and the consequences of my mistakes. Seven years went by. I was able to keep my emotions under control, until I came across a picture.

"I was looking through an old wallet I had brought with me when I moved. It had been forgotten at the bottom of a box. I found it while looking for something else. I opened it, and I had a picture of my baby boy. I remembered him and felt awful. I knew I couldn't fall to depression – I had another child to care for. To avoid it, I threw myself into my work, pushing myself as hard as I could, filling any open time slots in my schedule to ensure I had no free time to think about the pain. I led as many projects as I was allowed to in an attempt to dull the hurt. Because of this, your father, Annabeth, started to get suspicious. He thought it was all an excuse to see another man. We had many fights, and finally, I couldn't take any more. The stress from all the work I put myself through, the arguing, the torturous memories – I needed to get away. Your father and I divorced. When I left, I knew exactly where I was going. Malcolm, I called up your father, I remembered you, my dear, and realized how much time had gone by. I spent seven years with one child but not even one whole year with the other. I thought by going back I could fix that."

There was a break in her story. She again dried her eyes and gave us all a chance to process the information. She then continued.

"Malcolm, you were eight then. Do you remember, love? Remember what it was like for you to finally meet me? Because I remember how proud I was of you. You showed me all your awards and report cards. You showed me your trophies from chess team. I stayed three years. Then, I remembered my little Annabeth. But I didn't want to leave you, Malcolm. In the end, I didn't stay with either of you. I fled back to New York, where I hid out like a coward. In New York, I realized how unfair I was to you, Malcolm. I spent so much more time with Annabeth then with you. I wanted to go back to you, Malcolm, but…"

Tears rolled down her cheeks, and I almost felt bad.

"I couldn't reach you. The number, the address – they had changed. I had lost you. I'll admit – I could've tried harder. I moped around in New York, unsure of what to do. Before I knew it, another seven years flew by. I thought I'd never see my children again. Then, out of the blue, I happened to find you here. I couldn't resist. Forgive me for interrupting."

It seemed her story was over. I blinked a few times and tried to clear my head. Despite her tears, it was hard for me to believe her. She said so herself – she didn't try very hard to be with us. I needed her, but she wasn't there. She didn't look past her own mess long enough to think about us, and that stung.

I shook my head as my own eyes clouded.

"Annabeth?" She said gently. She reached out to stroke my cheek but I angrily pushed her away.

"No!" I stepped back. "I-I don't need you! I don't need you anymore! I'm not a little girl who relies on her mother anymore! When I did need you, you weren't there! But I'm not little any longer! I haven't needed you for a long time and I certainly don't need you now! You didn't have to come! I'm almost eighteen, I could've moved on with my life! But you had to come back and ruin it!"

"I was just trying-"

"Stop! Stop it! It's too late! I don't need you anymore! You've already screwed everything up enough, just stop trying to fix things! You only make it worse! Go away! I don't need you!"

I repeated the phrase over and over again as I turned and ran off in a general direction. I was mostly trying to convince myself that I didn't need her, because part of me still believed I did.

I heard running behind me. I was afraid it was Athena – I didn't even want to call her my mom anymore – but it was Malcolm. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to. We felt the same and we both knew it. He just wrapped his arms around me.

We held each other and sobbed together.

When our crying ceased, we silently agreed to go back to our families. We were both too tired to talk about everything now, so we'd discuss it later.

The adults, however, did not feel the same.

We arrived to a scene on which all Hades had broken loose.

Both our dads were arguing with Athena. They yelled and accused, waving their arms at her. She yelled back with excuses and tears. Helen flitted around them nervously, trying to silence them, every now and then getting angry at Athena's justifications and jumping into the fight herself.

My brothers were sitting at the picnic table, with blank faces and nervous eyes. I ran over to them.

I pulled the boys into a tight hug. I comforted them and they comforted me as Malcolm took care of our parents.

"HEY!"

The noise stopped. All eyes turned to Malcolm. He inhaled deeply, trying to control his own anger.

"This is a terribly difficult day for all of us, but fighting isn't going to help. Dad, Mr. Chase, I'm sorry you went through what you did. Annabeth and I want you to know we're thankful for you guys staying with us and raising us by yourselves, despite everything."

Malcolm and I hadn't talked about anything, but we knew each other well. He knew I was thinking that, so he said it.

"Mom…" He said it with a bitterness in his voice, "You made a lot of mistakes."

Athena winced.

"Because you're our mother, and you're human, Annabeth and I forgive you. But you still really messed up. Not once, but twice you have jumped into our lives at inappropriate times and then just left us. I was right, Mom," his voice trembled, "You came, and it was the happiest day of my life. But then you left. You said you remember all the fun times we had, and yet, they weren't very special to you then, where they? Well, they were to me. You left. You abandoned me, for a second time, only that time, it was worse. I had met you, bonded with you, let myself believe that you cared and would stay, and then one morning you just weren't there. I learned to live with that. I learned to deal with the pain. But now… now you've gone too far. You've come back, again. And I know you're not staying long. So instead of trying to fix this huge problem, just go. Before I get a chance to meet you again – because let's face it, I may as well be meeting you for the first time – and make myself believe you love me enough to stay, go. Stop toying with me and messing up the life I have managed to put together without you. Before we can be close again, just leave now. Please."

I nodded my agreement. Athena saw.

"Malcolm, Annabeth… I have ruined your lives enough. I only wanted to explain. I intend to leave and never disturb you again. So… just know that I love you, that I'm sorry, and that I'll never bother you again." She stood and left. Malcolm and I clung to each other, emotionally drained, and watched her go.

The only good thing that came from the encounter was knowing that Malcolm was my brother.

…

"Hello?"

"Hey, Annabeth. How are you feeling?"

After I got home yesterday from the park, I went straight to my room and called Thalia to tell her everything that had happened. Having had a bad experience with her own mother, Thalia comforted me. She called to check on Malcolm, too.

My dad was really shaken up by the whole thing. He wasn't talking much; most of the time, he seemed deep in thought, lost in his own memories of the past. Helen was trying to tend to him, watch out for me, and care for the boys as well as keep them busy all at the same time. The situation was distressing us all.

"I'm okay, I guess. I mean… Wow. I didn't know all of that. It's definitely going to take me time to recover."

"Oh, definitely. And we're all going to be here for you and Malcolm when you need us."

"Thanks, Thalia."

"Of course. Listen, I have an idea. It might make you feel better, or at least keep your head clear for a few hours."

"What's up? I am all for a break right now."

"Well, Jason's birthday is coming yp and my dad and I rented out a place to throw him a little surprise party. You should come. I think it'll help."

"When is it?"

"Friday at seven. It'll probably go until around eleven."

I didn't have plans for Friday. I really did need something like this to distract myself, so I decided to agree.

…

"Hey, Annabeth. How's it going?"

"Hey, Pipes. Well, I guess."

I hadn't had the energy to explain it again, so I asked Thalia to tell Piper about my mom for me. Her question was vague, but I knew Piper was asking me how I felt.

"That's good. Well, hopefully the party will help."

It was Friday night and I had arrived at the location promptly at seen o'clock. I set Jason's gift on the designated table, grabbed a drink, and found a seat next to Piper. We chatted along with Katie, who had come over in an attempt to fend off Travis, who was still hitting on her.

"Hide! Everyone, hide! Jason's coming!"

I scrambled to get behind the gift table. I forgot about my family problems and decided to just have fun for the night. Jason had been told that it was Malcolm's surprise party and that it started at seven thirty. I thought that was rather clever. Thalia had convinced Jason that she was going to go out and buy a gift from each of them, since she knew him better, so Jason had handed over a twenty-dollar bill. This was to ensure that Jason wouldn't end up going out and buying something, then have to return it. I heard Thalia go out to the hallway to meet Jason, as they had agreed.

"Thalia, did you get Malcolm's present?"

"Huh? Oh, shoot! I got my present but not yours! I'm so sorry!"

"Thalia! Now what? Well, if you have the money, maybe I can go get him a gift card real quick."

"Yeah, that would be god. But you have time; do it in a moment. Right now, I need your help setting up decorations. You're taller than me."

"So is Percy. Why can't he do it? I really need to-"

"Just come help me!"

Jason huffed. Light flooded through the now open doors, framing Jason and Thalia.

"Why are the lights o-"

"SURPRISE!"

Jason's mouth fell open. The lights turned on. The strobe lights flashed. A spotlight fell on Jason (when your daddy owns a big electric company, you can afford to buy cool stuff like that). The music started playing.

Jason started at all of us, pausing on Malcolm.

"So it's not your birthday?"

Malcolm grinned. "My birthday was eight months ago."

Slowly, Jason started to grin. It widened especially when he saw the present table, loaded up and each gift labeled with his name.

"Then let's get this party started!"

Everyone cheered and hit the dance floor. Will Solace, a guy from the club whose dad was Apollo, was our makeshift DJ, and he was pretty good.

The girls and I found some snacks and drinks and sat down to catch up. We were talking and laughing, when someone interrupted us.

"Hey, girls."

I knew that voice.

"Hey, Percy."

"Oh, hey Annabeth. Wow, you clean up nicely. Didn't think you owned a dress."

I blushed. Piper had put me in a blue party dress, simple but fun.

"I don't own this, actually. I borrowed it."

"To be honest, I didn't think you knew what a dress was."

I stuck my tongue out, but I couldn't suppress my blush. He cleaned up nicely, too, to say the least.

Percy had gone party-casual. Dark jeans, green Converse, and a black-and-green horizontal-striped button-down. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His hair wasn't perfectly in place, but it was gelled into a style that looked almost tame. His eyes popped. His cologne was intoxicating. So was his smile…

_Stop it. _

He flashed me a crooked grin. He opened his mouth, no doubt to tease me, but someone came up behind him and spoke first.

"These your friends?"

It was a girl. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, frizzy red curls that looked like they were about to pop the elastic that barely managed to contain them. Her bright green eyes flicked around from one of us to the other. Her purple dress was a little tighter, a little shorter, and a little lower at the neckline than mine.

_Fantastic. He made a friend. _

"Yeah, these are my friends Thalia, Piper, Katie, and Annabeth."

_Oh, so I get mentioned last._

"Ladies, this is my friend Rachel."

My friends each introduced themselves, repeating their names. When Rachel stuck her hand out to me, I shook it a little harder than I meant to. I said my name a little harsher than I intended.

"Annabeth." It came out through gritted teeth.

She nodded, a little taken aback by my tone.

'Nice to meet you."

I simply nodded.

"So, Percy, I think we've met everyone. Oh! This is my favorite song! We should go dance!" She took his hand. Percy blushed. As Rachel led Percy away by the hand, I could feel myself getting mad. I wasn't sure why it bothered me so much, but for some reason, I got a bitter taste in my mouth, watching them. They disappeared into the crowd.

"Okay, Annabeth, spill. What is your problem?"

"Nothing, Katie. Why do you ask?"

Thalia rolled her eyes, "You obviously have a problem with Rachel. Why?"

"I don't have a problem with her, she seems… nice."

"Oh my gods," Piper looked at me funnily. I stared back. "Oh my gods."

My eyes widened as I realized what she was implying. "No!"

"Oh my gods! _You like him_!"

"No!"

"Yes! I mean, when I asked you about it, I was teasing and I thought maybe it wasn't true but you so do!"

"I do not!"

"You do to! You're jealous!"

"That's why you don't like that he's noticing Rachel!" Thalia added.

"I do not like him!"

"Aww, it's okay Annabeth," Katie reassured me, "He'll come around."

"I huffed. "You guys are awful. I told you – I do not like him and I don't care if he wants to date Rachel."

"Uh-huh."

"_Sure_."

"Whatever, Annabeth."

…

**Luke's POV**

The Styrofoam cup in my hand cracked as I squeezed it. If it had had anything in it, I would have punch all over me.

I watched Annabeth from across the room. I was planning on going over there when Percy approached. I was going to go anyway, since that didn't bother me, until I saw Annabeth blush because of something Percy said to her. When I saw the girl behind him, Rachel, I realized he was introducing her to the girls. That was when I saw Annabeth's jaw tighten and I realized she was jealous. Why would she be jealous, though?

Then it hit me – she must like him.

It shouldn't have bothered me. She had the right to be with whoever she wanted to be with. But I thought we had worked it out. I thought she liked me. I was only waiting for the right time to ask her out. Apparently, I'd waited too long.

But maybe Annabeth still liked me. Maybe she had been waiting for me to ask her out and thought I didn't like her, so she moved on. If I could make her jealous, though… I could probably fix this.

I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned to see Silena smiling at me and batting her perfectly mascara-coated eyelashes.

"Hey, Luke. What's up?"

"Hey, Silena. Not much – how 'bout you?"

"Oh, just enjoying the party. I'm kinda lonely, though. Hey, wanna dance?"

I wasn't sure, but then I looked over at Annabeth. She and the girls had stopped talking to watch the dance floor and the people on it.

"Sure, Silena. Let's go over there - there aren't many people there."

I led her to an area near Annabeth. I glanced at her. She hadn't noticed me yet, but iFI stayed there long enough, she would. I turned my back towards her and focused on Silena. We had a light conversation, just some small talk, and every now and then I would turn us in a circle, just to make sure Annabeth saw that it was me, but I didn't break eye contact. At the end of the song, I glanced at where Annabeth was and saw that she wasn't there.

I scanned the room. There she was.

On the dance floor, dancing with her friends.

She hadn't been watching me. She hadn't seen me at all.

That's when I felt bad. I hadn't danced with Silena for fun, I had danced with her to try and make Annabeth jealous. I shouldn't try to use her. And I should let Annabeth be with whomever she leased.

"So, Luke, wanna dance some more or grab a snack?"

"Actually, Silena," I took a deep breath, "Look, I like you a lot, but as a friend. I just… I mean, don't take this the wrong way, but-"

"Annabeth?"

"Huh?"

"I can tell, Luke. Don't worry about it. Annabeth is a great girl and if you wanna be with her – go for it." She smiled sincerely.

"Thanks, Silena."

Of course! If you need any help, come to me. I am a love whisperer, I swear." She started to walk away.

"Oh, and Luke?"

"Yeah?"

She winked. "Invite me to the wedding."

…

**A/N: Okay! Whoo! That was a long chapter! So, just so we're clear:**

**Athena was a little bit of a b-word. She is also very OOC in this chapter. Sorry, I try to stick to the books, but it had to be done to make this work as I wanted it to. On the bright side, Malcolm and Annabeth can have an even tighter bond now. **

**Annabeth is jealous that Percy notices Rachel and not her, but she isn't ready to outwardly admit it. **

**Luke is jealous that Annabeth likes Percy. He wanted to try and make her jealous, but that didn't work as Annabeth wasn't paying attention. He decides to do the right thing and not use Silena – I he wants to win over Annabeth, it'll have to be by his own terms. **

**So that's all for this chapter. Until next time!**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	22. Snap

**Chapter 22: Snap**

**Sorry about the awful title. I may have outlined my story, but not my titles, so I am having writer's block with them. I just slapped this on 'cause Annabeth is starting to snap from Percy's obliviousness. **

**A/N: Long weekend! Whoo-hoo! No school for the next four days! So, I'm trying to post as much as possible. Okay, quick review replies:**

**Percabeth4ever25: that's a good idea, but unfortunately, I don't think I can find an appropriate palace to fit it into my story timeline… HOWEVER! I really like the idea. So I'm going to use it, just not in this story. I have this other story. It's called The Awkward Moment. It's a series of one-shots of awkward moments among the characters. Because they are one-shots, unlike this which is an actual story, even though I haven't updated in about a year, I can update at any time with any material. So maybe you'll have the honor of being the person to inspire me to reopen that story and keep writing it! Your idea can be the kick-off! So… Maybe that'll happen before next week. **

**PiperAnnabethChase: You are the only person who responded to that question. And even though you're the only one, I try to keep my readers happy, and I think I can make that happen. So, to your idea, I say: Will do! You'll only see a little bit though, since I already planned to start their relationship next chapter… but you'll see a little bit of her first, don't worry!**

**Okay! That's it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

"Finally! Break is here! No school for a week!" I pumped my fists excitedly as I left school.

Annabeth laughed. "Yeah, it's awesome. I don't really mind school, though."

I snorted. "Nerd."

"Am not!"

"Are to!"

"Am not!"

"And then you say _I'm_ immature."

She smiled. "So, Mr. Jackson, how about we kick off this break with a cupcake?"

I grinned at her. "Are you talking about the place I think you're talking about?"

"Mm-hmm. If you're talking about the place I think you're talking about."

"We walked to the bakery. It was a cute, little bakery tucked in the middle of the Grand Central Station area. It was so small, when you walked in, there was one table, a counter, and nothing else. There was a Starbucks inside the station, so we bought a cupcake at the shop and bought a hot beverage, settling at one of the Starbucks' tables.

"So, any plans for the break?"

She shook her head. "I might read the new architecture book I bought."

I rolled my eyes. "Let me paraphrase – cool, interesting, or exciting plans for the break?"

She stuck her tongue out. "Unless you count homework as cool, interesting, or exciting, no. What about you?"

I shrugged. "I am going to focus on catching up on my sleep."

She nodded in agreement, taking her first bite of her red velvet cupcake. "Mmm…"

The bakery had the best cupcakes around, but it was a bit far from where we lived and a little on the pricey side, so eating there was more of a luxury, used to celebrate special occasions.

Not having school for a week was very special.

We continued our conversation until my phone buzzed.

_Hey, Perce. No school for a week! Wanna celebrate with a cupcake from that cute little bakery?_

_- Rachel ;)_

I couldn't decide if the winky face was a typo or if she had done it on purpose. If she had done it on purpose, I wasn't sure how to interpret it.

"Who is it?"

"Rachel."

Annabeth's jaw tightened. "Oh."

Something about her tone unsettled me. I wondered if she and Rachel had had an unpleasant encounter or something, because she didn't seem to like her.

"What does she want?"

I didn't really think Annabeth should be questioning about that; I would've told her if I wanted her to know, especially since this was someone she didn't consider a friend.

"Uh, she wanted to celebrate break with a cupcake."

Annabeth nodded, a short, quick bob of her head.

"Well, you already bought one, so you'll have to go with her another time."

Her sentence was clipped and dismissive.

Then a light bulb went off in my head; I later realized, I was better off in the dark.

"Hey! I'll invite her to come here with us!"

"No!" Annabeth's rapid response surprised me.

"What?"

"Um, I mean, this is our thing, you know? I kinda wanted this to be just us."

"But you wanted to invite Thalia-"

"That's different."

I started to get annoyed. "How is it different? What do you have against Rachel, anyway?"

"Nothing."

"You definitely have something against her because you always seem mad when I talk about her."

"I do not!"

"Yes, Annabeth, you do!"

She stood. "My problem isn't Rachel. My problem is that all of a sudden, you like spending more time with her than with me!" She left angrily. I was left sitting, with a half-eaten cupcake in my hand, completely confused.

…

"So what do I do?"

I was talking to Grover. I called him after the little scene with Annabeth and explained what happened.

"I don't know what to tell you, Perce. Girls are complicated. Maybe… I don't know, maybe she's jealous."

But why? It's not true, what she said – I spend equal time with both of them."

"Well, maybe she doesn't see it that way. Like I said, girls are complicated. They overanalyze everything. Are you guys cool now?"

I sighed in frustration. "I don't know, I haven't talked to her, yet."

"Hey, I know what you can do. You know how Silena's organizing that Christmas [arty?"

"Yeah." Yesterday, I got a pink, vanilla-scented invitation to Silena's Christmas party, held at her mansion – sorry, I meant _humble home_, as she likes to put it. I've been to her parties before, every one she's ever held, and I knew they were extravagant and suit-and-tie-=or-you-can't-get-in events.

"Annabeth's gonna be there."

"How do you know?"

"Well, Silena put me in charge of the RSVP's. Except she forgot to tell me, so I've been getting calls from people I don't even know about the party. Anyway, Annabeth called to confirm her attendance. You should wait for a slow song and ask her to dance. You guys can work things out that way, peacefully. At the very least, there'll be plenty of witnesses if she tries to beat you up."

I nodded. "That's actually a good idea. How do I know when the time is right?"

"You'll just have to wait for the right song. Or you could request a song. Ooh! You could request 'That's What Friends Are For'!"

"Um, no, too corny. Hey, why you don't you ask Juniper to dance?"

I pictured him blushing on the other end.

"What? Why would I do that?"

I rolled my eyes. "Dude, it's so obvious. Just ask her to dance, and then you can ask her out."

"I don't know…"

"Oh, come on, you can do it!"

"O-okay. But how will I know when it's the right time?"

I smiled. "You could request a song. Ooh! How 'bout 'Muskrat Love'? The one you always hum whenever she walks by?"

"Shut up, Percy."

…

**Annabeth's POV**

"Alright, ladies, let's get this meeting started!" Silena tapped her gabble against her podium a few times to get everyone's attention.

Silena was putting together a Christmas party. I've never been to any of her parties, but I had sources – I heard they were the parties of the year. They were talked about for months, and if you got invited, that automatically boosted your social status and classified you as 'someone'.

Apparently, it was an even bigger honor to be asked to help.

At the club, Piper introduced me formally to Silena. We ended up becoming good friends, despite the fact that I was nervous about Luke possibly liking her.

"Okay, girls, we have work to do! The guest list is already taken care of, so I will be assigning you each to a different project. Katie, I want you to put together a menu. I'm still debating if I want to serve dinner, or just have a bunch of finger food out. Just make a menu for both. Oh, and finger food is just the name – please pick foods that can be eaten without making a mess and I will get those cute little forks so people can eat more conveniently."

Katie nodded. This was always her job, so she had her clipboard and pen ready.

"Thalia, I'm going to put you on decorations. You did really great with them at the Thanksgiving party."

"Will do. So, what's the budget?"

They paused, then laughed. I glanced at Katie.

"Silena doesn't have a budget – her mom's, like, a millionaire super-model. Money is no problem."

"Piper, I want you to… Ooh! You can set up a Secret Santa! You know, write everyone's name on a slip of paper, fold it up, and then we can all get together and pick out the names of the people we're giving gifts to. Hmm… Let's make it Christmas-y! We can write the names on a Christmas card and put it in a box! We can wrap the boxes up and put them in a red bag, like Santa's! Then, on the day when we get together, everyone can pick a box and their person's name will be in it! I like that! Get to it."

Piper nodded. She picked up the guest list and counted the cards and boxes she'd need.

"And Annabeth… Hmm… You can work with me. I already have Will putting together the music, since he did an amazing job at Jason's party, so that's done. But, you and I can get party games together, other than Secret Santa! Not too many, just simple ones. Oh, and we can set up a photo booth! We can have a Christmas card making station, and maybe like a stocking-decorating station, and we'll get a big fireplace for roasting marshmallows even though that's more of a summer activity, but who cares? And we can have a station for gingerbread men making…"

We all set to work on our various tasks, chatting and laughing. It was a lot of fun. When the day's work was complete (we would come back the next day to finish up our planning and shopping) Silena gathered us at her monstrosity of a closet – that thing was huge.

"The final thing – my girls need to look good! You ladies are my special guests of honor, since you helped plan, and each of your outfits will have a cute little theme!"

"Ugh," Thalia groaned, "This is the worst part."

Silena beamed. "Let's start with you, Thalia! I want you to be… Man, I can't believe I'm saying this, but... last year I told you I wasn't having an ugly sweater party. And I'm not this year. But this year, I'll let you wear your ugliest sweater."

Thalia's eyes lit up. "Yes!"

"But you have to wear a skirt!"

"Aww. That doesn't even match."

"In your particular case, it doesn't matter. I want you in a skirt."

Thalia stuck out her tongue.

Silena assigned us each a 'theme' and let us look through her closet for items we might want to use. She said if we didn't find anything, she could order specially designed dresses.

"Oh my gods! Katie! Wear reindeer ears!"

She made a face. "Those don't go with my theme!"

"No, no, wear this!" Thalia held up a red dress. Since Katie was a bit taller than Silena, the dress would be too short on her. The neckline was low, and the dress was tight and sparkly.

"I looked over the guest list," Piper said mischievously, "Travis'll be there and he would certainly appreciate that!"

Katie's ears turned the color of the dress. "Well, I peeked at the guest list, too, and I think Jason would _love_ to see _you_ in that!"

Thalia grinned. "Jason definitely would." She wiggled her eyebrows.

Piper made a face. "He wouldn't care. I think he's going to the dance with some girl."

"Who?" I got curious at that.

Piper shrugged, trying to be nonchalant. "Some girl named Reyna?"

"Oh, I know Reyna! She's okay, but, really serious. I don't know why Jason would be into her," Silena commented as she fished through her collection of jewelry.

Piper sighed. "Whatever. It doesn't matter. I think he's going with her."

"Aww, Piper."

"No. Don't start with that."

"Aww, you like him!"

Thalia's head snapped up. "Do you?"

"No."

"Yes, you, do!"

"No, I don't I don't care if he goes with that no-good little man-stealing bi-" She caught herself, "Reyna,"

"Don't worry, Pipes," Silena winked, "I have the perfect dress in mind to bring out that Aphrodite-ness. It's cute, flirty, and, well, a good Aphrodite knows how to charm a boy. I gave you the theme I did specifically because it can be done in a pretty way and I know Jason likes it. Plus, it'll show him that you can work being fabulous and fun at the same time, unlike Reyna."

"I'm not jealous of her, you know."

"Mm-hmm. And you, Annabeth, dear, I picked your dress specifically, too."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

Piper happily rejoined the conversation, since it was no longer about her. "I think I know…"

"Who?"

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Don't be dense, Annabeth. You know."

"I don't."

Katie smiled slyly at me. "Percy, smart one."

"What? Why should I care what he thinks?"

"I know you do care, Annabeth, that's why I took the liberty of picking out your whole outfit. It perfectly captures something dear to his heart. He loves it about Christmas. Well, his favorite part is the cookies, but I'm not putting you in a cookie dress. So this is the second thing."

"I'm not interested in getting his attention, thank you very much," I snapped, "If he wants to pay attention to me he will."

Silena started at me. "Alright, what happened?"

"Nothing."

"Something happened. What's up?"

I sighed and told them about the day school let out for the break. I felt a little bad for the way I reacted towards Percy. Bit at the same time, I was upset with him for just sort of forgetting about me.

Not that I like him and am jealous of her, or anything.

"Don't worry, Annabeth," Silena wrapped her arm around my shoulders reassuringly, "Christmas is magical. Something good is bound to happen."

I hoped she was right…

**A/N: So this last bit, with the party, is because I needed an appropriate setting to sort out some things. You'll see next chapter. The party is also because I'm a girl who loves the Christmas spirit and wants to get in a fun scene with a fun little party : )**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	23. Mistletoe Mishap

**Chapter 23: Mistletoe Mishap**

**Another cheesy title from yours truly ;) I picked this one because at the end, there is a little mistletoe incident that totally throws someone's feelings off. **

**A/N: Here I am again! Thank you to my reviewers, for your continued kindness. Man, I got some really nice ones! I felt so flattered and special and inspired to post again today. So I will. **

**So this chapter is for two reasons:**

**1) I need to show that Percy is starting to get mixed up. Before, he was kind of crushing on Annabeth and he was aware of it. Now, this is the part where Rachel really comes into play, messing with Percy's feelings. Yay! Remember how you kept asking if this was a Percabeth story? Here you go. Another knot to add to the mess. We're moving away from so much Lukabeth and transferring into the real Percabeth. **

**2) This chapter is meant to be fun. Yes, there are the moments where Percy has to try and mend his friendship and there's the part where Rachel is getting to him, but mostly, it's just a big fun Christmas party. I just wanted a chapter to have fun with. **

**That's it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

"Ahh! This is it, ladies! The big day is here! Whoo-hoo!"

Silena was so hyped up, I wondered if the fizzy drink in her pink-tinted glass was actually champagne and not sparkling cider.

"You girls look amazing! And Piper, Annabeth," she wiggled her perfectly shaped eyebrows, "The boys are going to be all over you."

I blushed. I glanced down at my outfit.

Silena's dresses were extravagant. She was not kidding when she said she wanted us in specific themes.

Katie was a Christmas tree. Not literally – it was a beautified version. Her dress was a deep green that had a pine-needle looking pattern on it. Her shoes were brown heels. Her jewelry was colorful and reflected light. Fashion-wise, it wasn't the most coordinated outfit, but she definitely looked like a Christmas tree.

Thalia was rocking her ugly sweater. It was baggy and red, white, and green. It had snowflakes and reindeer and Christmas trees in a complete disarray all over it. She paired it with a black skirt and black flats. She topped it all off with an elf hat. It seemed so un-Thalia, and yet, it worked for her.

Piper was peppermint candy, a candy cane to be specific. It turned out Jason was crazy about them. Her dress was diagonally striped white and red with a thin black belt in the middle. Her shoes were white pumps. Her necklace and bracelet had a candy cane on it. Silena slipped a red bow in her hair.

Silena was the real winner, though. Her dress was red velvet that flowed to the floor. She wore a thick black belt around her waist and black heels. She wore a sparkly white vest with a faux fur trim and she wore one of those black headbands with the mini, sparkly Santa hats on it. She was a Project Runway version of Mrs. Claus.

Then there was me. Silena had appointed me snowflake. My dress was a silvery blue with tiny white snowflakes made of lace sprinkled all over it. Each snowflake had a silver bead in the center. My heels were a soft blue. Silena took the liberty of spraying my hair with a silver-glitter hairspray. She let me borrow some silver jewelry. She said I looked stunning and that Percy had always had a thing with snowflakes, so this was perfect. I wasn't sure how I felt about doing this, but maybe I could get on good terms with him tonight.

Silena had taken us to the beauty salon to get hair and makeup done. We arrived at her house in style – a white, full-length limousine.

Just before we stepped out, Silena gave us a quick reminder.

"Christmas is magical, ladies, so find your evening star and make a wish!" Sh strutted out with a flourish.

I glanced at Piper. We walked out together and entered the loud party scene.

…

"What?"

"The music is really loud!"

"What?!"

"I said, the music is really loud!"

"_What?!_ I can't hear you! The music is too loud!"

Piper and I had been screaming for the past thirty minutes, struggling to maintain a conversation. Will's song selections were excellent, but his volume awareness? Not so much.

Piper and I were sitting comfortably. We had danced for a bit, talked to some other people, grabbed some food, done quick little tasks for Silena, and decided it was time to sit.

Several times Silena came by to remind us to keep our hopes up and to point out all the mistletoe so we would know where to drag 'anyone special we were willing to get our lip gloss on'.

I sighed. I hadn't even seen Percy, let alone shared lip gloss with him.

Not that I was anxious to do so. No, I was mad at him.

I sighed again. I stared out over the crowd. Lots of people were milling around. Lots of couples were wandering around, holding hands, or had located the nearest unoccupied mistletoe. It shouldn't have been too hard – Silena hung them _everywhere._

The volume of the music had come down enough so I could hear Piper when she said, "Oh my gods! Look!"

Will was playing slow songs now. He was encouraging couples to come out and dance over the microphone. I saw where Piper was pointing.

Silena must have wished really hard on that evening star, because she had a crowd of boys around her. She broke free, and then I saw what Piper wanted me to see.

One guy was a little bit away from the crowd. When Silena stumbled away from it, she ran right into him and he took his opportunity to pull her to the floor. It was the only guy Silena took actual notice of.

Charles Beckondorf.

From all the way over here, I couldn't here what was being said. But Beckondorf must've said something sweet, because an extended 'Awww' rose from the group of people around them. They started to dance.

Piper was beaming. "They're so cute!"

"And you thought being claimed by Aphrodite was a mistake."

"Sjut up."

The next track started. Will called out.

"This song was specially requested by a shy guy out there who wanted to capture the attention of a special little lady. Grover? Where'd you go, man? Here it is – take it away."

Grover nervously trotted up to the stage where Will was. He took the mike.

"J-Juniper?"

Juniper stepped forward from the parting crowd letting her pass. She was blushing but glowing at the same time. Grover walked down to meet her. Someone followed him with the microphone and held it to his mouth as he took Juniper's hands in his.

"May I have this dance?"

The microphone was moved to Juniper as she ducked her head. It was a good thing, too – she responded so softly that without the microphone, I wasn't sure even Grover would have heard her.

"Okay."

Another approving 'Awww' from everyone accompanied the opening music of a strange song I had only ever heard come out of Grover's reed pipes.

"What song is that, Annabeth?"

"Muskrat Love."

"_What?_"

I raised my hands in surrender. "I didn't pick it."

We watched as more dancers went by. A few songs passed before we were interrupted.

"Hi. Mind if I sit?"

I looked up. A girl stood in front of us. Her long dark hair hung in soft curls down her back. Her features were beautiful even though she wore no makeup. Her dress was long and purple.

"Not at all," I said politely. I winced as Piper elbowed me, hard. I didn't understand her problem, until I remembered something.

"What's your name?"

"Reyna."

_Oops,_ I mouthed to Piper. She sighed.

"So, Reyna, tell us about yourself."

That was my lame attempt at small talk.

She told us how she was actually from California but was the daughter of Silena's mom's friend. She came out to Silena's parties all the time.

For Piper's sake, I decided to go out on a limb.

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

She smiled softly. "No."

I glanced at Piper. "Oh."

"I don't really have interest in a relationship. I mean, yeah, there's this one guy… But I don't think it'll ever go anywhere and that's fine."

Piper glared at me, as if to say she knew what was next.

"Who? Do we know him?"

"Maybe. Jason Grace? We used to go to school together until he moved here."

Slowly, Piper's face started reddening. It started in the tips of her ears and the flush made its way down her whole face. She exhaled.

"Yes, we know him," she managed through gritted teeth.

"Really? Isn't he great?" She proceeded to thoroughly describe him, his personality, and all the memories she had of their childhood.

Finally, Piper had enough.

"Well-Reyna-it-was-nice-meeting-you-but-we-have-to -go-over-there-to-do-something-important-bye!"

She grabbed me by the wrist and we dashed off.

…

"That was horrible!" Piper rambled off about the Reyna incident. She was clearly very upset. I grabbed her by the shoulders to keep from her from hitting something.

"Piper! It's okay. Calm down. She said she didn't have a boyfriend so they're not together or anything! She said she didn't think anything would happen between them, so maybe she knows he likes someone else. Maybe he likes you."

"Yeah, right," she turned, paused, and let her mouth fall open.

"Hey, Pipes."

"H-hi, Jason."

Jason smiled shyly at her. He looked good in a suit and tie. Coincidentally, his tie had candy canes on it.

"So, um, wanna dance?"

Piper looked around in bewilderment, as if she didn't know who he was talking to. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. You're the only Pipes I know."

"Um, but, uh, I thought… you ... didn't you come with Reyna?"

He looked surprised. "Reyna? You know her? I didn't know she was here. I'll have to catch up with her later. But right now…" H held out his hand, "What do you say?"

The way Piper was smiling, I would've thought he'd asked her to marry him.

"Yes!"

Jason's smile widened. "Let's go, then."

He led her to the floor. Piper glanced back at me. She gave me a thumbs-up and I returned it.

I walked around for a bit, along the edge of the dance floor. I found a new seat and settled down. The song that was playing was coming to an end.

A new song started. It was one of my all-time favorite songs. As I closed my eyes, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Annabeth?"

I looked up. And I found Percy Jackson staring down at me.

…

**Percy's POV**

"Annabeth?"

She opened her eyes. Gods, she looked beautiful.

I mentally inspected myself. Compared to her, I was plain in a regular suit. The only special thing was my snowflake tie. Coincidentally, it matched her dress. Hmm… Wait a minute. _Duh._

There had to be some reason Silena insisted I wear it.

I brought my attention back to Annabeth. She looked at me expectantly.

"Um… do you… maybe…" I rubbed the back of my neck.

She raised an eyebrow. Her smirk told me she was teasing.

"Yes?"

_This would be so much easier if she didn't look so good. _

I exhaled and forced the words out with my breath.

"Do you want to dance?"

She studied my outstretched hand before a soft smile graced her lips.

"Sure."

We moved onto the floor. Tentatively, I put one hand on her waist and the other clasped hers. She blushed. Her free hand rested on my shoulder. It was awkward for a few seconds, until we got a rhythm.

"So… um…"

"Yeah?"

"About the other day… I'm sorry for getting mad at you. I just didn't really think about that day being just for us. I thought it'd be okay to invite someone else. "

She looked away. "Percy… I overreacted. I'm sorry. I don't know what got into me. You're right. Rachel's a great girl. And you have the right to be friends with whomever."

Something about her tone seemed off to me.

"I like spending time with you."

"I know. But I know I'm not the only person you're friends with, too."

Her voice was soft, almost sad.

"Annabeth, you're still one of my closest friends."

She didn't respond. I took a deep breath. It was about time I let Annabeth know how I really felt.

"Look, Annabeth, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"I know. You need your space. I'm sorry for snapping at you and being so uptight. I'll back off."

"What? No, Annabeth, I-"

"It's okay. You can say it. I know. You're allowed to have other friends."

I started to get frustrated.

"Annabeth," I emphasize her name, "Listen to me. I need you to know how much you mean to me. I want us to be close again, but I want us-"

The song ended. Annabeth pulled away. She smiled.

"I know. You want us to be close but not on top of each other. I get it. Thanks for sorting this out with me."

She walked away. She didn't let me tell her that I wanted us to be closer. She didn't let me ask her to be my girlfriend.

…

I was still feeling flustered, and all the noise and commotion was not helping. I stepped out into one of the various hallways. I needed space and air.

I tried to calm myself down. Annabeth was just reacting out of insecurity. I can always ask her another time.

But part of me wondered if she knew what I was going to ask and she was just trying to let me down easy.

I decided to worry about it the next day. I should just enjoy the party.

I was about to leave when someone called out to me.

"Percy?"

I turned. Of all people to see after that awkward conversation with Annabeth, I saw _her._

"Hey, Rachel. What are you doing out here? Why aren't you in the party?"

"I was just about to ask you the same thing. I was using the bathroom. What's your excuse?"

"I just wanted to get away from all the people for a little bit."

She nodded. We stood there in silence for a moment.

"So, Percy, you a big fan of Christmas?"

"Yeah. It's a big deal at my house. It's special to me."

Without really thinking about it, I fingered my tie. Snowflakes were special to me, the most special thing about Christmas. After the tree, of course.

"Christmas was the only time of year I could count on seeing my dad and getting him all to myself. It was the only time I was guaranteed a visit."

My dad's favorite part of Christmas was the snow. We made snowmen and snow angels and had snowball fights. But his favorite activity was to catch snowflakes on his tongue. That became our special little-father-son, thing, just us two. "Snowflakes remind me of him."

"That's sweet."

"Yeah."

"So you like the Christmas traditions?"

"All of 'em."

"Really? You know, Christmas isn't a huge deal for me, but there is one part of Christmas my family and I always honor."

"What's that?"

She smiled mischievously. "Mistletoe."

I started to feel a little uneasy. That was Silena's most honored tradition, too. She had them all over her party. She wouldn't have them in the hallway, too, right?

"You know the tradition, Perce?"

"Y-yeah."

"So if you found yourself under mistletoe, you'd know what to do, right?"

"Yes."

"That's good to know, because…" she pointed above us.

_Crap. Of course Silena would hang it in the hallway. _

Rachel took a step closer. I took one back.

"Tradition's tradition, Percy."

It felt just a little creepy.

She closed her eyes and leaned forward. I leaned back.

Our lips were about to touch, when…

"Guys! We're about to do gift exchanges!" I heard a voice in the hallway.

Whoever it was hadn't seen us. They opened the door, called out in case anyone was there to listen, and closed the door again.

"Oh! The Secret Santa's starting! We have to go give our presents!" I raced off. I have never been more relieved in my life. Behind me, Rachel huffed.

"I _was_ about to give my present."

**A/N: Whoo! A fun chapter, a little dramatic, a little sentimental… I'm really proud of this one!**

**I'm sorry the Reyna thing only lasted a few paragraphs. It was a last minute add-in and this was the only place I could fit it. But for the requester, there you go!**

**I tried to put a lot of fluff in here. I've been really teasing you guys throughout the story, so I thought I'd be nice and throw in some sweet things. **

**The Grover/Juniper scene? You gotta admit, that was cute. 3**

**Sorry for being so specific about outfits. I just wanted to write about that. **

**So! That was fun to write but my fingers are cramping. **

**That's all for now!**

**Man, Percy's gotten himself in quite a pickle, huh?**

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	24. To Make Matters Worse

**Chapter 24: To Make Matters Worse**

**A/N: Hello! Okay, so I apologize for being late, but, now that the ice has been broken, my teachers are throwing a lot of work at me. The bad news – I will probably only be able to do weekly updates. The good news – we're at chapter 24, so only six more chapters and you won't have to wait for me to update. **

**Review Replies:**

**erinwritesfanfics: I agree, it's very forward to ask someone to be your girlfriend without asking for a date first, but remember – this is Percy we're talking about. Personally, I think he'd think to just ask her to be his girlfriend; well, actually, to be completely honest, I think he'd be too nervous to actually say anything… he might just stutter for a few seconds before asking Annabeth to give him a chance… *wink-wink***

**livelaughloveandread: Yes, Rachel likes Percy, he thinks he kind of likes her, Luke likes Annabeth, Annabeth still likes Luke (though not quite as much) and Percy and Annabeth are starting to really like each other. And don't worry – I have one more character to throw into this – well, it's not a love triangle anymore, per say – it's gonna be more of a love pentagon. But that's not this chapter. **

**General Reply:**

**Okay, I saw this in a lot of reviews:**

"**Can't wait to see what you did for the Secret Santa!"**

**I have a little confession… I'm not actually doing a Secret Santa scene… See, when I wrote the last chapter, I just needed enough tasks for all the girls and they had to be Christmas-related and that's what I thought of so that's what I wrote down. I wasn't actually planning on writing one. I'm sorry to get your hopes up. Maybe, if I get enough feedback, I can write a Secret Santa one-shot as a Christmas present for you guys. And to keep this character outline, I'll make it a sort of deluxe-edition-bonus-feature-chapter (you know, like when you get a DVD and you watch the deleted scenes, the ones they shot and wanted you to see but they didn't actually use). I will do it, if you like, and before Christmas, if you really want it. But you won't find it here – sorry. **

**Alright, that's out of the way. On with the show!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

"Hey, man."

"What's up, Luke?"

Luke and I were sitting at the club cafeteria the day after the party. We hadn't hung out in a while, so we decided to do so.

"How'd you like the party? First time, at a Silena party, what'd you think?"

He smiled. "She throws a wicked-awesome party."

I nodded. "For any holiday or occasion, on calendar or otherwise. As long as she has a valid excuse to justify the party, and it's something people'll show up for, she'll throw it. Oh, and Valentine's Day is the next big one. It's her favorite, too – don't miss it."

"Spin the bottle?"

I wiggled my eyebrows. "You know it."

He laughed. "There was plenty of mistletoe last night."

"Yeah, she's a matchmaker-type chick. She'll use any excuse to get people together, too."

It was Luke's turn to wiggle his eyebrows. "Get anyone special under a mistletoe?"

I blushed bright red as I remembered Rachel.

"Um, no," I stuttered, but I don't think he believed me. It might've had something to do with the fact that I was redder than Silena's dress had been.

He laughed. "S'okay, you don't have to tell me."

"Did you get anyone special?"

He glanced away. "I… I almost got Annabeth…"

"Oh," was all I could manage. I had forgotten that Luke was planning on making a move on Annabeth, too. Now I had a problem. I'd be a bad friend if I got in the way of this. But I couldn't help it.

"Yeah. I danced with her. And we danced right under a mistletoe, but she was acting kind of funny, she sort of laughed when she noticed and just pulled us away. She kept looking around, too, like the mistletoe reminded her of someone she had to talk to or something."

"Well, there's still Valentine's Day."

But I was secretly hoping Annabeth would be mine by then.

"Annabeth was talking about you," he said a bit quietly.

"W-what did she say?"

"She asked if I knew what was up with you. She said she danced with you and you seemed kinda nervous. What was that about?"

"Uh, nothing, I wasn't nervous."

Luke watched me, seemingly concerned, until he unfortunately started putting pieces together.

"Wait… Mistletoe… and what Annabeth said… You kissed her?!"

"What?! No!"

"Then why would you be… D-did you try to ask her out or something?"

"I… well, I-"

"You did! I can't believe you'd do that! I told you I liked her!"

"I'm sorry! I didn't think about it, I just – I'm sorry!"

"Some friend you are, making a move on the girl I told you I like!"

"Look who's talking! The guy who totally abandoned his best friend!"

"I did not! And I fixed it! And I'm going to fix this, too!" He stood and walked away.

I wasn't sure what he meant by 'fix this', but I figured Annabeth might have a boyfriend soon.

If he asked her, she'd most likely say yes. She didn't think that he cared more about another girl than her.

…

I decided I needed to breathe. I needed something to distract myself. So I called Rachel for a hang out at the beach.

We were sitting in my stepdad's car. He let us borrow his Prius, under the condition that I brought it back in one piece.

I parked in a stretch of beach that was deserted. Rachel was sitting in the passenger seat. Today, she was dressed a little more formal than normal due to some informational meeting her parents forced her to go to for some fancy private school. Instead of paint-stained denim and a T-shirt, she was wearing a black skirt, a white button-down, and gold flats. She had a long black coat over it to shield her from the cold. She had straightened her curly red hair and pulled it into a ponytail. I didn't like admitting it, but she really did look good.

"So, Percy, how's life been?"

We had managed to hold a steady conversation for the past half hour, which I thought was a miracle. I thought it was going to be awkward. I thought Rachel would mention our almost-kiss.

But she acted like it never even happened (which I was totally fine with, by the way).

"I've been pretty good. How about you?"

"My parents are really pestering me to go to that school in Connecticut, but, ugh… It's not my thing."

It really wasn't. It was hard to picture Rachel wearing a skirt-and-knee-high-socks uniform to a private boarding school where she'd learn to be a socialite.

I sighed and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath, then shivered. It was, after all, winter, and we were on a beach.

"Percy?"

"Hmm?"

"What was your favorite Christmas present?"

"Huh?" That was random.

"You know, the best Christmas present you've ever gotten?"

"Oh, umm…" I had to think about that for a moment, "I guess my stepdad."

"Your… stepdad?"

"Yeah. My dad's never really been there for me. And that made me nervous as I got older, because I don't know about you, but I'd feel awkward having to ask my parent of the opposite gender about puberty. So when my mom announced to me one Christmas that show was marrying Paul, I was actually pretty excited. He was cool and treated my mom right, and I'd have a father figure in my life, who would always be there. It's probably a little corny, but it's true. Plus, my mom struggled with money, so it's not like I got the most extravagant stuff."

She nodded thoughtfully. "That's sweet, though."

"What about you?"

"I've had some nice gifts but, another Christmas is behind us and I still haven't gotten what I've always wanted for Christmas."

I frowned. Her father was a billionaire, and he couldn't get her what she's always wanted?

She chuckled. "Money can't buy it, and it's definitely something I wouldn't want my dad giving me."

"What is it?"

She smiled at me. I started to feel a little weary.

"My first kiss."

I nodded, a little absent-mindedly, before I realized what she was saying. I turned to her, alarmed, but she was staring out the window. I trained my vision on the steering wheel. Maybe she didn't mean what I thought she did.

"I was kind of hoping you'd give me it," she said softly.

I looked at her. She was looking back at me now. I got the same feeling I had under the mistletoe.

Suddenly, my phone rang.

I jumped. It startled me, but I was relieved. I scrambled to find it and answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Perce. We still on for later?"

It was Beckondorf. I'd agreed to meet him at the club for a little extra training. I suppressed a smile, mostly because I was guilty that I was glad to be leaving.

"Yeah, totally. When do you want me there?"

"Actually, if now works, I can take you now. I'm at the beach and I see a Prius that looks like Paul's. Is that you?"

I looked up. In the parking lot, on the other side of the beach, I saw Beckondorf lift his hand to wave.

"Oh, are you with someone? I can wait, or meet you there."

"No!" I cleared my throat. "Uh, no, no, it's fine. I'll be right there."

I hung up. I turned to Rachel.

"Sorry, but I agreed to spend the rest of the day with Beckondorf, and he's here to pick me up."

It wasn't a complete lie, though it wasn't the complete truth, either, since that wasn't the actual reason why he had come.

"Oh." She seemed disappointed.

"Hey, do me a favor?" I motioned to the keys, "Bring this back to my place?"

Part of me felt bad for asking, but she was my friend, and that was a friendly favor, right?

"Yeah, sure. Um, but before you go…"

"Yeah?"

The next events happened so suddenly, I didn't have time to register them all.

"I just wanted to make up for Christmas."

She leaned in and kissed me, full on the lips.

I was completely shocked. I didn't even respond. She pulled away and pushed me lightly.

"Go on, don't keep him waiting."

With that, I found myself walking to Beckondorf. Unfortunately, he had seen, He smirked.

"So… You guys a thing now?"

I blushed. "No."

"Oh. Then I guess you don't want me posting this adorable picture I got of you guys on PicShare? Or telling Annabeth?"

"No!"

He laughed. "Alright, alright. Come on, lover boy, let's get going."

Later that night, I was still feeling bad about Luke, and about Rachel, but I think I felt the guiltiest about something else.

Once Rachel kissed me, I realized how much I liked her. She was easy to be around. She was fun. And, not gonna lie – she was not a bad kisser.

Yeah, I definitely felt the worst about considering Rachel as a girlfriend over Annabeth.

**A/N: That last scene remind you of anything? (TLO cough-cough).**

**So what'd you guys think? Some of you will probably be mad that Rachel has kissed Percy but not Annabeth but… Well, it'll get better. **

**Sorry it was a bit short. **

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	25. Summer Lovin in the Spring

**Chapter 25: Summer Lovin' (In the Spring)**

**A/N: Hello, my darlings! Sorry I'm late – busy, busy, week, between world history notes and chemistry study guides, I haven't had the time or energy to write. But it's Saturday. I slept in this morning. So here I am. **

**Okay, this chapter is a time-lapse to spring break (April-ish). I know I'm skipping around, but this must be done to fit a proper timeline. Between last chapter's Christmas break and this spring break, I don't have any major events, so we're gonna go ahead to this big deal. **

**THIS IS MY SECOND BIG PLOT TWIST!**

**Again, it's nothing super dramatic, and a lot of you probably saw it coming, but I'm proud of it. I haven't seen this character used this way in other stories. And even though this character will be here this chapter and next (moreso next chapter) and won't have a major impact on the whole story, this character will temporarily mess up another character and trigger some thoughts and feelings.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

"Percy! Come on! We don't want to miss our flight!"

"We have, like, an hour, Mom, calm down."

We had just arrived at the airport, where we'd board our plane to Hawaii for a spring break vacation, and I was excited.

I've always loved the beach, especially surfing, and Hawaii was the perfect place for that. And now, with all the craziness and tension and girl problems I'd been having, vacation sounded great. I needed to breathe, to think, and clear my head. It would be a lot easier without said girls breathing down my neck. In Hawaii, I could be on my own and not be near a girl that made everything complicated.

"I know, sweetheart, but the way you're walking, it'll take us an hour to get to the gate."

We had already done all of our check-ins and now were waiting for our flight to be called. I was waiting for my friends, who would arrive any minute to say good-bye and keep me company.

"Percy!"

Grover was hurrying over. Thalia and Nico were at his heels. Luke lagged behind a little bit. We were still a little shaky.

And behind them was Annabeth.

My heart skipped a beat. I forced it to settle down. We hadn't talked much in a long time and I missed her.

"Hey, Perce! When do you leave?" Thalia asked, looking around excitedly.

"In about an hour."

Thalia smirked and took out her iPhone. She held down the home button until there was a soft _ding-ding. _

"Siri," she said, "Remind me in an hour that I'm free from my idiot cousin for a whole week."

I stuck my tongue out at her.

_Here is your reminder. Shall I create it?_

"Yes."

_OK, I will remind you. _

She smirked at me again as I punched her arm lightly. "Thanks, Siri."

"You're mean."

"Not that I needed the reminder – how could I forgot something that great?"

I shoved her. We chatted for a while. Well, I chatted with Thalia and Grover. Nico has always been kind of quiet so he pushed in his headphones and zoned out. Luke and Annabeth awkwardly stood to the side. I felt bad, but what was I supposed to do?

The real problem, though, started when someone else showed up.

"Percy! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

_Crap. _

Rachel was running over to me. She beamed. I caught Annabeth scowl out of the corner of my eye.

"Hey, Rachel," I let her hug me.

"Are you excited? I would be. I love Hawaii. What's funny is my family almost planned a vacation there this week, too! But, we're going to the Caribbean instead."

I was half-expecting Annabeth to pull out her own phone and ask Siri to remind her that she had a week free, too. She didn't, though, and part of me wondered if it was because it was 'too good to forget'.

"So! We all got you gifts for your trip, right? Thalia, you texted me?"

Thalia sighed. "Yeah, we did… It was supposed to be a surprise until just before he left, though."

Rachel clasped her hands over her mouth. "Oops! Oh, well, we can just do it now!"

Annabeth made a face.

We all plopped down onto the floor. My friends opened whatever backpack or purse they brought and took out bags and boxes.

"I'll go first," Thalia volunteered. She produced a box from her knapsack and handed it to me. I unwrapped the green paper. When I saw what she got me, I glared at her.

"I don't need this! I can swim just fine, thank you very much!" I said indignantly as I waved around the box containing the yellow duck floatie.

Thalia laughed. "Aww, but it's cute!"

"And too small," I grumbled. Oh, well. Maybe I'd find a little kid in Hawaii who wanted it.

"Here, open mine," Grover handed me another box. In it, I found a pair of swim trunks – the same blue, ocean-patterned pair I'd been eyeing when I was wandering around the mall with Grover.

"Oh, thanks, man!"

Grover smiled. "Thought you'd like it."

From Nico, I got a beach ball and coconut-scented sunblock so that 'my scent blended in'. Luke got me a beach towel and a pair of flip-flops. Annabeth's present was next. Without a word, she passed a bag over to me.

In the bag, I found what appeared to be a Yankees cap, only a few shades of blue lighter. But when I took it out and inspected the front, right where the _NY_ should've been, there was something else.

It was a picture of seaweed, swaying in the water. That was it. And that was all I needed to understand.

"Oh, I get it!" Thalia exclaimed, "It's seaweed, and you wear it on your head – seaweed brain!"

Annabeth's nod told me Thalia was right. I smiled at Annabeth, a genuine smile. I really liked how personal her gift was, and how hopeful it made me feel about our friendship.

"Thank you."

She blushed. "You're welcome."

I almost didn't hear her.

"My turn!" Rachel cried out in a sing-songy voice. She handed me two small boxes. The first shocked me completely.

She had gotten me a pair of Ray Ban sunglasses.

"Rachel… I-I can't accept this."

"Oh, don't worry about it," she waved her hand dismissively, "It was nothing, really. In my terms, those were about as expensive as a baseball cap."

Annabeth had a murderous look in her eyes. So did everyone else. Including me.

Truth be told, Annabeth's gift meant so much more to me. It ran deeper than $200 sunglasses.

"Open the other one!"

I did. And what I found was just as surpising.

A digital camera.

"Take pictures of everything! And send them to me!"

I wanted to protest, but the loudspeaker announced our flight and my mom pressed me to gather the gifts and say good-bye. Since our suitcases had already been taken, Thalia would put all the presents in a box and send them to Hawaii overnight.

I helped her clean up the gift wrapping.

"Show-off," she snorted under her breath as she stuffed Rahcel's presents in her bag, "I could've gotten you Ray Bans, too, but they were well out of our set price range and I knew you liked heart-felt stuff. My duck was so much cooler."

She picked up Annabeth's gift to put it in her bag, too, but I stopped her.

"Wait. I… I don't want to wait for that one. I want it to take it now."

She smiled. "Now here's someone who knows something about valuable gifts. It was a clever one."

I carefully placed the cap into my carry-on. As I did, I noticed the back was labeled Property of PJ (SB)'. I smiled. I made a mental note to get her something special, too.

I turned to my friends. I gave Thalia a hug and ruffled Nico's hair (which he hated – that's why I did it). Grover and I did the guy-hug thing. When I turned to Luke, we just shook hands awkwardly.

Then, I hugged Annabeth. She offered me her hand for a shake, but I took her wrist and pulled her to me. She seemed taken aback, but she relaxed in the embrace.

"I liked your present the best," I whispered.

I wanted to say more, but she stepped away. I was going to protest, but suddenly my arms were full of someone else.

"I'll miss you, Percy!" Rachel cried dramatically as she threw her arms around me, "Stay in touch!"

"He's going on vacation for a week, not moving to Switzerland," Annabeth muttered.

Part of me felt bad for Rachel, but a bigger part of me was grateful to her for pointing that out.

Rachel ignored the snickers. I tried to pull away, but she clung to me like I seriously was moving to Switzerland and she'd never see me again. Thankfully, Grover helped pry her off of me as the loudspeaker announced it was boarding time.

…

"Aloha! Welcome to Hawaii!"

The doorman sure was friendly. He greeted us cheerfully. He was decked out in khaki shorts, flip-flops, a loud Hawaiian T-shirt, a few colorful leis, and a one of those Hawaiian bird's nest hats.

"Thank you," my mom said politely and the guy handed us each a leis.

After checking out our hotel room, we decided to explore. It was so different from New York. We walked to the nearest beach and took a walk along the shore. I collected some seashells I found. There were a few shops in the area.

I started looking for souvenirs to bring back to my friends. The first thing I saw was absolutely perfect for Thalia.

"How much is this?" I showed the clerk what I wanted.

"Um, sir, I'm not sure that will fit you…"

"Oh, no, it's for a friend. Who this will definitely fit."

"Oh, alright, sorry. Well, that'll be…"

She rung it up. I paid and left the shop with the bright pink flamingo floatie.

We continued to look around the stores until dinnertime. For Nico, I found a tiki necklace, the thing he'd asked me to get him. For Grover, I got a book of the Hawaiian wilderness. Why he wanted that, I had no idea. For Luke, the best I could think of was a T-shirt. I considered a Hawaiian shirt, but I didn't really think it was Luke's style. The last item I purchased was a jewelry box encrusted with seashells. I was going to give it to Annabeth, but it wasn't as meaningful as her gift to me. So I decided I'd give it to Rachel.

We had dinner at a local fish-and-chips place. I wasn't sure why, but I felt a little uncomfortable eating fish. I'd always been wary about seafood, maybe because I loved sea creatures so much.

My parents and I returned to the hotel room. They shared a bed and I got the one closer to the window. I took a shower and headed to bed.

…

"Percy! It's for you!"

I groaned. It was so early… Who was calling me at this unreasonable hour of the morning?

I took the phone from my mom.

"Why are you calling me so early?" I grumbled.

"It's ten o'clock in the morning, son," there was a chuckle on the other end of the line.

"D-dad?" I sat straight up.

"Did I ever tell you I had a place down here? Well, I do, and I want you to come stay with me for a few days!"

"Uh… I don't-"

"I haven't seen you in so long and while we're both here, I'm off work and you're off school, I thought we could get in some quality father-son time."

"Um…"

"I'll come by tomorrow to pick you up, so pack what you need! Oh, and… Amphitrite and Triton are here. See you tomorrow!"

He hung up.

I sat there, stunned.

"What did he want, Percy?"

"He wants me to stay with him for a few days."

"Oh, that's nice."

"Except his wife is there with her son."

"Oh…" She sat next to me, "Sweetie, you don't have to go if you're not comfortable"

"No, no, it's alright. I want to see him."

"Okay," she said softly, "Pack some things."

…

"Percy, son, it's great to see you!"

It was awkward, seeing my dad after so long. I don't talk to him much. He was sporting his own Hawaii-wear – he looked a lot like the hotel doorman.

"Hi, Dad."

"You remember Amphitrite, Triton?"

"Uh-huh."

Behind my dad stood a young woman and a guy around my age; Dad's wife and her son.

We didn't get along. She hated me because I was the son of a different relationship. And since she hated me, Triton did, too. That was really all there was to it.

I wasn't sure how we'd live in the same cabin for three days. My dad took the bag I'd packed for my stay with him and loaded it onto the car he'd rented.

"You're gonna stay with me. At my private residence."

"Private residence?"

As it turned out, my dad owned a part of the beach. It was secluded, a private section just for him and his guests. He'd even hired a private surf instructor for me.

I was grateful and everything, but it was a little unsettling. I decided I wanted to be on my own. I hadn't had a chance to myself yet. My parents and I had filled our schedules with activities, so right now, I wanted to just lay on the beach and close my eyes.

Along the shore, I found a little rowboat. Out of curiosity, I stepped in and started to row away from the beach. I tried to go in a straight line – I didn't want to get lost out there. As I moved my arms in swift, circular motions, I saw a small land mass in the distance, not too far from the beach I'd come from.

It was another little island. I rowed to shore. I didn't see anyone, so I decided to hang out there for a little while.

"Who are you?"

I jumped and whirled around. Apparently, I wasn't alone after all.

A girl was staring at me. Her caramel-colored curls swayed freely in the wind. She was wearing a white dress and no shoes. She stared at me intently.

"Um, I… I didn't know anyone was here. I was just-"

She smiled. "It's alright."

She sat next to where I stood and motioned for me to sit as well.

"I'm escaping, too. I like to come here and be alone sometimes."

I nodded. There was something about this girl that caught my attention. Something about her smile, the look in her eyes – it intrigued me.

I stayed until just before it was too dark to see. We had spent the day just staring out over the water, not talking much. I felt like I'd known her for a long time, though. It was so easy to talk to her.

Before I got in the rowboat to head back to my dad's place, something occurred me.

"Hey!"

She turned, "Yeah?"

"I never got your name."

She tilted her head to the side, her hair falling off her shoulder.

"Calypso."

**A/N: So what'd ya think?**

**I know the title isn't completely appropriate because they're not desperately in love and in this chapter there wasn't any 'lovin', but I liked the title so I kept it. **

**R&R!**

**- Promise**

**P.S. With Thalia and Siri, what I had Siri say is what she would actually respond to that request. I checked. **


	26. Eenie Meenie Miney Moe

Chapter 26: Eenie Meenie Miney Mo

A/N: Hey! I'm here with chapter 26! Time to spice things up!

Haha, just kidding. There will be a few more tangled knots, though. As you know, Percy has met Calypso, and as you can probably guess, they develop feelings for each other, at least a few, for some time.

This is where it really gets interesting – and confusing.

On with the show!

Disclaimer: I do mot own PJO.

P.S. If you haven't read the first chapter of HoH, go Google it, it's up! Plus, Rick Riordan also read a small excerpt from a chapter in the book, Annabeth's POV, while they're in interesting – gave me the chills, I almost cried! Google it or you can find it on his Twitter page! Also on his Twitter page, links for an interview with Publisher's Weekly, with the Associated Press, and a link to a deleted scene from TLO (where Percy runs into Nancy Bobofit! Excerpt she's not conscious, so they don't really have a proper exchange).

Hope you enjoy!

Percy's POV

"You're kidding, right?"

This was the fifth time my dad had bailed on me since I'd arrived to stay with him. He had promised we'd go out and do some fun stuff together, but his wife kept whisking him away for different activities in the early morning and they wouldn't return until later in the evening. There was no time left for me.

"I'm sorry, Percy, but Amhitrite was really looking forward to the carnival-"

"And the fireworks you went to, and the festival, and the new restaurant – and she couldn't go to any of those alone or with just Triton."

He sighed over the phone. "Percy, I've been away a lot recently for work and you know how she is. She just misses spending time together so we're just making up for it. But I promise we'll hang out."

"You've promised that five times."

"Now I'm really promising. Tomorrow, she and Triton will have some mother-son time and we'll have our father-son time. I'm sorry, she just doesn't like being without me for very long."

"I spent almost my whole life without you,' I said quietly, "And you made me deal with it. You're telling me a grown woman can't spend a few days without her husband when I was forced to wait years for you at a time? And you're telling me you could leave my mother, young and pregnant, alone with no one to turn to and no means to raise a kid hanging for years but you feel bad about leaving Amphitrite in good shape while you step out for a week?"

There was silence. Then, "Percy-"

"And I can't tag along because Amphitrite wants alone family time but when I told you I didn't want to be in the same house as her because she made me uncomfortable and anxious I had to 'learn to handle difficult situations'? She's old enough to deal with difficult situations, too, if I am."

"Percy, she's been clingy lately. And temperamental. Especially because of my frequent trips, lately."

"She's a smart lady. She knows better than to trust you alone. I mean, look at me. She doesn't want any more like me staying at her beach house, huh?"

"Percy!"

"Why can't she go to the stupid spa by herself? What are you even supposed to do there?"

"Percy, she's moody and I don't want to leave her"

"Why?"

"Percy, she's pregnant."

It hit me, hard. I was not expecting that.

"Wha- huh?"

"We're expecting and we've had a rough little patch in our marriage so I'm trying to fix it before the baby gets here-"

"We've had a rough patch in our own father-son relationship for years and you don't seem anxious ot fix that anytime soon."

"Percy, please-"

"No, I get it. This family is clearly more important. If you even consider me family anymore-"

"Of course I do, Perseus, you are my son!"

"-since you didn't care to fix your relationship with Mom before I got here."

"It's complicated-"

"And it's your own fault. If you're gonna screw up, don't go screw up somebody's life, too. I might be your 'son', but you're npo my father. My father was kind and loving, gentle but strong. My father was there for me and loved me and wouldn't let anything stand in his way to get to me. My father was a good man who left because he had to, not because he wanted to. You're not him. Maybe you were once, but you're not anymore. Or if you are, if that man is still int here, prove it to me. I'm desperate to see him again."

My hand felt wet, and I realized tears had slipped past my lids and landed on it. I tried to hold it back, a short sob escaped my lips and snaked through the phone. I didn't give my dad a chance to register the noise and hung up, closing the cell phone and sticking it in my pocket.

…

"Percy! Hey!"

I forced myself to smile as I heard a voice like a dove's behind me.

After the phone call, I sat in the row boat and made my way to the little island I had gone to every day, all day, since my arrival at the beach house. It was a nice escape from everything, a destination of peace and relaxation… And behind me was my guide to that worry-free place.

"Hey, Calypso."

She smiled a pretty smile that lightened her face. Her dark hair hung in a long braid over her shoulder. She wore a white sundress that contrasted her caramel-colored skin and gave her an innocent look.

"Did you bring the bucket and shovel?"

I reached into the rowboat and pulled out a big. In the beach house I had found some old beach items – a few buckets and shovel of different sizes and shapes. The day before, Calypso and I tried to build a sand castle with our hands and it didn't turn out so great, so I told her I'd look for a bucket to bring a lot.

"Excellent."

Birds called to each other in the distance. The waves lapped against the shore. The sun was warm and the breeze was cool. A pretty, kind girl was helping me build a sand castle, the icon of my childhood happiness. Everything was perfect.

"Are you okay?"

I blinked. "Hmm?"

"Your eyes. They're red and a little puffy. Have you been crying?"

Under any other circumstance, with any other girl, I would've blushed and denied. But Calypso was different. I could talk to her so easily. She was so aware of my humanity that it didn't embarrass me to admit I'd been crying – she was the kind fo person who understands that it's something people to do, and that being a guy doesn't change that I have feelings I express.

With a sigh, I told her about what happened with my father earlier that day.

She was silent, but only for a moment. "My father is rather absent, too."

I waited. I thought she'd tell me a little more.

"My mother died when I was very young."

"I'm sorry."

"My father and sisters… They've never cared much for me. We live on the other side of ths island. I come over to this side every day. It's my escape."

I nodded. "Mine, too. This whole vacation is an escape."

I found myself telling her about my other problems.

"See, I have this friend. My best friend, actually. And she liked this guy, who was my other friend. He kind of forgot about her when they moved away from each other and when she got here they tried to fix it and I helped. During that, we got close. Then, I made this other friend. And I'm not sure why, but my first friend doesn't like her."

Calypso smiled softly. "I think I know."

"Really?"

She laughed gently. "How blind you are – of course. They both like you, as more than just a friend, and they see each other as competition."

I'm no totally dense – I did have that as an idea – I just didn't actually think this kind of thing would happen, two girls fighting over me (sort of).

"You have a lot of girls chasing after you."

I blushed. "Ony two."

"Three, actually."

I stared at her. "What do you mean?"

"Recently, a third girl added herself to yoru list."

"Wait, y-you mean… you?"

"Mmm." Her response was indirect but enough for me to know.

Great. Another girl. At least this one I'd be leaving soon and probably never seeing agian and the other girls didn't have to know about her.

Ugh. Why? Why me?

The thought of leaving was sad. And not because I liked her back (thugh I'lll admit, I've had a daydream or two) but just because it was peaceful here. It was quiet and serene.

"Percy."

"Hmm?"

"Why… Why don't you… Uh, never mind."

I looked her. "Tell me."

She shrugged a little helplessly. "If everything is so complicated where you live, leave. I don't like where I live either. We could… run away or something. Stay here, just us."

I frowned. Was she crazy? But maybe I was crazier, because I actually kind of wanted to do that.

"I can't do that."

Why did she seen so disappointed? Surely she knew I'd say no.

She nodded. "I know. I guess I couldn't either. It'd be nice to, though."

"Definitely."

We stayed there for the rest of the day. As the sun neared the horizon, I knew I had to go. I also knew I wouldn't return the next day. She knew this, as well.

We stood on the shore, facing each other. Our hands were clasped ogether, and it felt perfect.

"Bye, Percy." She stood on her toes and kissed my forehead. I was a bit disappointed.

"Bye, Calypso. Maybe I'll see you next time I come, or something."

She smiled faintly. "Maybe. I doubt I'm gong anywhere."

I gave her hand a final squeeze before I stepped away and headed back to my dad's house. I tried not to look back at her.

…

The flight home was torturous. It gave me too much time to think.

Meeting Calypso was nice. It was a good way to relax, but at the same time, all my feelings got jumbled up.

It's not that Calypso was a possible girl choice for me, but she definitely left an impression on me. I wouldn't just forget her.

Really, the question was between Annabeth Rachel. If I got one, I lost the other. What was I going to do? They are evteuaCMyanainglly amazing girls. All I'm certain of is meeting Calypso did not help the situation.

A/N: Sorry it's short. Probably not very good. Probably doesn't make up for not updating but… Ugh, homework!

Sorry it's short and late. Oh, and as for proofreading, which I normally do, this time, I only skimmed for autocorrect red lines so sorry for any mistakes.

I need to sleep…

R&R!

- Promise


	27. Let's Get Ready to Rumble

**Chapter 27: Let's Get Ready to Rumble**

**A/N: Okay, title might be a slight exaggeration… anyway, here's the next chapter. So sorry it's late. We are coming to a close, guys. After this chapter, there are two more, an epilogue, and that's it! So, these last couple chapters are going to be a little more intense – I'm basically condensing the events of TLO (with my own twist) into these last two (actual) chapters and adding a nice epilogue to wrap it all up. These last chapters are going to be longer and have more in them, so they may take longer than a week to finish… Just saying. And after this story, I have a few one-shots in mind I'll try to post over the school year (including that bonus scene for Mistletoe Mayhem with the Secret Santa). I have a few multi-chapter ideas I'm tossing around; I'm working out some kinks, getting a tile and summary, playing around with it. I'll write my outline and try to get as much of my story written as possible over the school year, but posting won't start until summer vacation, when I can dedicate the time a multi-chap requires. And hopefully, the story will be not only outlined like this story, but already written, so literally I just have to post each week. But we'll see. **

**Anyway, let's finish this chapter before we think about everything else. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

"Hey, Chiron."

"Percy, you're back. Come in, have a seat."

The day after we got back from vacation, I slept in until about noon, and headed over the club. Chiron had made me promise I'd come in and tell him all about the trip, and I've always been one to keep to my word.

"How was Hawaii, tell me?"

I told Chiron about the beautiful beaches and delicious exotic foods. He nodded as he listened intently.

'And tell me, Percy," he winked and smiled suggestively, "did you meet any special girl? A particularly mesmerizing beach beauty? A hula dancer, perhaps? Mh?"

I blushed. I couldn't believe he'd be asking about this kind of thing. But I trusted Chiron, and I just needed someone to tell.

"One girl."

"Oh?"

"Yeah…" I talked about the issues with my dad and how I'd decided to take a little trip and had found her on the island.

"I see. And…?"

He wanted to know what went down between us.

"And a few days later I had to leave."

"Did you get her phone number or something?"

"She told me she didn't have a phone, which I found kin of hard to believe, but what was I supposed to do? So I just left and that was that. But hopefully, if I get to go back, I'll find her-"

Before I could finish, the door banged open. I turned around, and saw someone I wasn't particularly anxious to see at the moment.

"Chiron," Annabeth said. She seemed to be trying very hard to avoid looking at me, "Piper is having issues hooking up her knife in the arena, and she asked me to bring it to you."

She strode forward, swiftly and very stiff. Her eyes were trained ahead.

"Uh, hey, Annabeth," I said.

"Hi," was the dismissive reply I got.

"Yes, Annabeth. Leave it here and I'll take a look at it."

There was an awkward silence. I cleared my throat.

"So… Annabeth, I, uh, brought you something from Hawaii. I didn't bring it with me, I wasn't expecting to see you, but I will give it to you."

She nodded quickly, but she still wouldn't look at me. "Mm-hmm. Thanks."

I could tell something was bothering her, and since Annabeth is my friend, I figured I should try talking to her. I followed her out.

"Annabeth?"

"What?" Her tone was sharp, like she was mad at me, though I couldn't imagine why.

"Um, you seem upset. Do you… wanna talk?"

"No."

I'll admit, I felt a bit hurt. I wasn't expecting that answer. Or even if I had been, I certainly wouldn't have expected her to say it so… forcefully.

"Okay."

"Gods, you're stupid."

"Huh?" That probably only justified her statement.

She rolled her eyes. "Nothing."

"Hold on. What is up with you, lately?"

"What's up with _me_? What's up with _you_?!"

"Yeah, you! I'm fine, it's you who seems to have issues!"

"The only thing I have issues with is you dropping everything, forgetting everything, over some random girl you barely even know!"

So that's what this was about. I really shouldn't have added fuel to the fire, but I didn't want Annabeth mad at Rachel – if she was going to be mad, I'd rather have her anger channeled at me.

"Back off, Annabeth. Rachel's actually pretty cool, if you got to know her. In fact, she's into Greek mythology, too. I told her about Club Half-Blood and she seems interes-"

"_You told her?!"_

"Um, yeah. She wants to join."

Annabeth stomped her foot. "That's supposed to be secret! You're not supposed to go around telling just anyone about it!"

"Rachel isn't just anyone!"

"So because you kept seeing her, she's someone now? So because I keep running into someone, they're now my best friend? I see that mime on Fifth Avenue every day, so I guess he's my best friend now and I'm gonna go invite to the club, too, then? Who knows? Maybe his dad's Dionysus, god of theater and crazy people!"

"That's not how it is!"

"And you probably told that girl on the island, too!" A look passed over Annabeth's face, like she'd said something she hadn't meant to say.

I was confused about what she meant. Then I remembered how she had barged in, how she avoided my look, how sudden her entrance was right when I was telling Chiron about…

"W-were you _eavesdropping_?"

She sniffed. "I needed to see Chiron, and I wanted to know if I would be interrupting something important. Apparently, I was."

I was a bit surprised. I didn't really think Annabeth was one to eavesdrop. Then my anger caught up with me.

"Oh my gods! Here you are going on about spilling secrets and you were eavesdropping on a private conversation!"

Annabeth glared at me. "Look who's talking about trust and betrayal - the guy who ditches his best friend to be with some new girl!"

Annabeth walked away.

I sighed and stepped into Chiron's office.

He cleared his throat.

"I guess you heard that."

"You didn't close the door, so I saw it, too."

"What do I do now?" I sat down and brought my hands to my face. "I'm allowed to have friends."

He smiled softly. "She's just jealous. Give her time, she'll come around."

"I didn't mean to hurt her," I whispered.

"I know, Percy. And I'm sure she knows that, too. But Annabeth can be a little… prideful, at times."

"You know her pretty well, considering she hasn't been here all that long."

He shrugged. "I'm very observant." He smiled at me slyly. "And if you think that's good, imagine how much I know about you, who I've known longer?"

I swallowed. "Uh… So what do I do about the Annabeth thing?"

"Giver her time. Then talk to her. You don't have to apologize, exactly, because you're right, you're entitled to friendship. But let her know if you did hurt her, it was not on purpose."

I nodded. "I'll see to that."

He looked at me pointedly. "And I'm not sure it's so wise to bring Ms. Dare here."

I pressed my lips together. "Perhaps, but…"

He simply nodded in understanding, though his gaze was still uneasy.

…

"This is so cool!"

Despite everything, I brought Rachel to the club the next day. Partially, I wanted to make a point to Annabeth, though I brought her today, when I knew Annabeth wouldn't be here, in case anything went wrong. But I had also promised Rachel I'd bring her.

"Okay, so you're gonna do the fighting skills test and the personality quiz."

"Got it."

I set her up and watched her progress. She didn't do so well against the virtual telkhines, but she did well enough to move to the next level, so I figured she might've just been non-warrior, maybe a Demeter kid.

The next level flashed, but at the end of it, something I'd never seen before happened. The screen read:

ERROR: NOT A DEMIGOD – NO OLYMPIAN BLOOD DETECTED

Then:

STATUS: MORTAL

I blinked. A piece of paper printed out. On it, the same information was printed.

"What does that mean?" Rachel asked when she joined me.

"I'm not sure. Maybe the Stolls are messing with the system. Let's go see the activities director."

Chiron confirmed it was not a prank. Some people – though few people – didn't pass the fighting test and were deemed mortal. Chiron said that technically, since she was mortal, she wouldn't be part of Camp Half-Blood. She could still get membership and come, and participate in everything, but she wouldn't be recognized in the system as a demigod, just a guest. Her scores wouldn't be recorded. She didn't get a locker or weapon of her own – she'd borrow one in Chiron's office.

Rachel seemed pretty down. I tried to cheer her up.

"You can still join. Then you can train and take the test again."

She shook her head. "Can you be born again?"

"What?"

She shrugged. "I was born mortal. If this was all real, I couldn't go and become a demigod – I'd have to go be born again, from someone else. And honestly, that sounds like a lot of work, and I don't feel like having to go through birth again, so I'm okay."

I smiled at her quirky sense of humor. "Will you still join?"

"Nah. There was a community art project I wanna do. If I don't do the club, I have time and I can do it."

I sighed, defeated. "Okay."

I most definitely would not be telling Annabeth about this. Thank goodness she didn't see Rachel get deemed mortal.

…

Luke's POV

_Dear Luke Castellan, _

_Congratulations! You have been accepted to the Kronos University…_

I read the first part over and over again, carefully moving my eyes over the typed words (except for the part after 'dear' where my name had been written out, probably because they used the same letter for a lot of people). I couldn't believe I was going to the university of my dreams.

It was a prestigious school, exclusive, for the best of the best, and I let myself be flattered and a little big-headed as I realized I must've been one of them to be accepted. The next day at the club, I'd have to remember to tell all my friends the great news.

…

_All club members report to the amphitheater immediately_ a voice boomed over the loudspeakers that usually had music flooding through them.

I glanced at some of my friends, confused.

"Does anyone know what's going on?"

They shook their heads in bewilderment, just as confused as me, and we headed to the amphitheater.

Chiron stood in front of everyone, his expression grim.

"Settle down, settle down," he used his teacher voice and the whispers died down. He took a deep breath.

"As most of you know, this club is funded by the brothers Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, known as the Big Three," he gestured at the kids of the Big Three "-the fathers of three of our members. As some of you know, they had their own separate companies which recently merged under Olympus Incorporated, to more easily provide electricity, plumbing, and central air conditioning."

Okay, so they just wanted us to know about and appreciate the people who brought us this club. So was that it?

"Recently, though, there has been an issue. I'm sure many of you, especially you juniors and seniors, know about Kronos University."

I tensed. How was it relevant to anything?

"Olympus Inc. provides them with services. But there has been an issue at the school. They are reporting many, too many, major problems with the electricity, plumbing, and air conditioning and demand it be fixed. Kronos is threatening ot sue. Not only is Olympus spending a lot of money to make repairs that seem to be occurring too often, but they are also getting a bad name because of the accidents that have occurred die to said problems. Many, many other clients are leaving Olympus. The company is ready to shut down – and if it doesn't, it'll go under on its own soon anyway – and the Big Three will no longer be able to fund the club."

Murmurs rose up. Everyone was panicky – this place was a home away from home to most, so the thought of losing it was difficult to deal with.

"Now, now! We are trying to figure something out. As of right now, there is still a little money in the budget, so services remain free, but donations are certainly welcome. We will try not to worry too much, but we do need to make a plan about what will happen should the Big Three lose their company and stop funding the club. Our options are limited – we can charge for membership, though with so many bills that may be a high price, or…"

I gulped. I knew what he would say. I didn't want that to happen. I loved this place, though I hadn't been here all that long. I had made great friends and had my fondest memories here. And then there was the school – it was my dream school, but if issues at it were taking funding from the club… Well, I could go and put up with bad services and know that the club was over partially because of it, or I could stay at the club, help try and save it (though there was no guarantee there was anything we could do) and not go to the place I had longed to go to for years.

Meanwhile, as I sorted out my thoughts, Chiron cleared his throat and finished his sentence.

"… Or we could shut down the club."

**A/N: Tun tun tun! I know, I know, the Kronos University is kind of stupid but it was the best I could come up with and hey – it's not a main plotline so it doesn't matter if it isn't great.**

**Did you see what I did? Zeus had an electric company, Poseidon had a plumbing company, and Hades – well, Hades had an air conditioning company because I figured the Underworld was cold… (*cue drums* pum-pum-psh!) Another stupid idea from yours truly. **

**But anyway, I think it works well enoguh. **

**OOOHHHH, what's gonna happen now?**

**Did you like how I deemed mortal Rachel?**

**Okay, so, story's coming to a close. This last conflict and its solution are spread out between the next two chapters and then 30 has a nice epilogue to wrap things up. **

**Whoo! **

**Sorry again for being late. **

**And sorry if there are mistakes. I'm urgent to post so, not my best editing job. Plus my spacebar hates so a lot of words get stuck together – I think I caught them all, but if I didn't, you know it's my spacebar's fault. **

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	28. Things Get Ugly

**Chapter 28: Things Get Ugly**

**A/N: Holy horse feed! (Haha, that was my favorite exclamation from the PJO series; from HoO I think it's 'Poseidon's underpants!') It's chapter 28! Almost done!**

**So, some of my reviewers expressed sadness that my next story won't be expected until the summer, but the thing is, I would hate for something to happen like what happened with this story, left in the dark for a year… I want to ensure that I can start and finish within a reasonable timeframe. However, I won't be absent until then. You won't see a multi-chap from me till school is out, but you'll see one-shots – I have plenty of ideas, I just haven't posted because I wanted to finish this. **

**Anyway, here's this chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

**P.S. Fun fact – for Hades' air conditioning company…. I had my story outlined, as you know, including the conflict I wanted to use, but I couldn't think of what company for him, so I literally wrote 'and whatever Hades does'. I came up with air conditioning on the spot as I wrote, literally five minutes before posting – that's how I roll. **

**I also get my best ideas in the early morning – my best work for school was product of waking up at 4:30 the morning it was due and going 'holy cow it's due today and I haven't thought about it for the past two weeks!' I whipped it up at about five o'clock and got an A. **

**Hope you enjoy!**

Annabeth's POV

"-and so that's the idea. Will you come?"

"Huh?"

Thalia sighed. She'd been telling me about some party for some birthday, but I wasn't paying attention. I was too distracted by memories from yesterday.

"Annabeth, this is, like, the fifth time I've told you. I won't keep repeating myself if you won't listen. Tell me what's bothering you."

I was a little reluctant, but I told Thalia about the fight with Percy the other day.

"Ooh, wow. You, uh…"

"I know, I know! I'm so mad at myself! Like, I honestly don't even have a right to be jealous"

"Aha!"

Thalia sprang up from her chair, pointing a finger at me. "You _do_ like him!"

"What? No! I just-"

"Nope, nope, nope! Done. It's settled." She sat back down. "So what were you saying?"

I rolled my eyes. "I just… hearing what he said about that girl… I couldn't take it. I should've walked away but…"

"You walked inside instead."

I slurped on my milkshake glumly and bobbed my head up and down.

"So what do I do?"

"Oh, I dunno." She munched on a French fry.

"Thanks, Thals. What would I do without you? I muttered sarcastically.

She grinned. "You'd-"

"Rhetorical question. And then there's Luke. I don't even know what to make of that guy anymore."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. Everything is just so awkward with him. I don't even know what's going on between us."

"Have you talked to him recently?"

"No. I wouldn't dare."

Thalia exhaled through her nose. She glanced at the watch on her wrist.

"Well, let's head over to the club."

"But it's a school night. We aren't supposed to stay up too late and going to the club – it's too tempting not to do so."

"I know. But Luke said he wanted to talk to us."

"I don't want to see him."

She spread her fingers. "Look, whatever is going on between you two doesn't change the fact that you're friends. He said this was really important and he wants us all there. Plus, we can grab dinner."

"We just had dinner."

"We had fries and a milkshake. If you don't want to eat real food, that's fine, but I'm starving. And it's burrito night."

"You and your Mexican food."

"Let's go."

"Fine."

…

We plopped down at one of the tables, where Grover was already seated with a plateful of cheese enchiladas (he and Thalia shared the same love for the Latino food – not sure why). Percy was there, too, poking at a bowl of guacamole with a tortilla chip. He refused to look at me. Honestly, I didn't blame him.

I was going to say something to him, but then Luke sat down, along with our other friends, and a serving of tacos.

"So what did you want to talk about?"

Connor was impatient. He wanted to get this unofficial 'meeting' out of the way so he could eat his tamales-drowned-in-hot-sauce in peace.

Luke took a deep breath. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded-up square of paper, and smoothed it out on the table.

"I got my first reply from one of the colleges I applied to." He looked at each of us briefly. "I got in."

"That's great!" Katie chimed in. "Congratulations! What school?"

Luke bit his lip, then his taco. He chewed thoughtfully and swallowed hard.

"Kronos University."

We all fell silent.

"I'm gonna go."

"_What?"_

Everyone started talking at once, protesting.

"Hey!" Luke got everyone's attention. "I know the school is having problems with the Big Three, but it's not their fault that the companies haven't met their responsibilities."

"What are you trying to say?" Nico didn't talk much. I didn't know he was so defensive fo his dad. But he said this with a slight edge to his voice.

Luke held his hands up in surrender. "All I'm saying is that I'm going to the school because it's my dream school. I love this place, but if it gets lost, we can't blame it on the school, and this is what I want to do."

"Go to the place that's ruining this one."

Percy had a dangerous look in his eyes. It was a little scary, the glare he was throwing at Luke.

"It's not the school's fault."

"They're suing my dad, causing my second home to close down, and ruining his reputation over common issues that are easily fixed. And you're supporting them."

"I'm not supporting them."

"You're giving them your money. Which they don't need 'cause they're suing my family."

There was tension. A heated battle was building up between the two boys.

"Sorry. But I am going to the school."

"Then you're as bad as a traitor."

"Oh my gods! So I'm gonna put a club I've been at for a few months over my future?"

"No. Over a place you _haven't_ been to."

"You're being impossible! It's not even any of your business!"

"It is my business! My club is getting shut down because some school wants to complain and over exaggerate!"

"How do you know it's not true? Have you asked your dad what was going on? Oh, that's right, you barely see your dad! He's running a company that doesn't even work!"

Hurt flashed across Percy's face, but he recovered quickly.

"Like you have a relationship with your dad – at least I know who mine is! Yours probably abandoned you and you never met him! With good reason, too!"

I was a little confused how this argument turned into a personal assault, but I sure as Hades wasn't about to interrupt.

"Whatever!" Percy stood angrily. "Do what you want to do!"

"I still want to help the club! It still matters to me!"

"Yeah, right! Pick a side, Castellan – don't be so two-faced. The club or that school. I don't care."

They both stormed away, in opposite directions. The rest of us looked at each other. We weren't sure what had just transpired. I didn't know why this had to be about 'sides'.

"I… agree with Percy." Katie spoke softly, afraid of objection. "Luke shouldn't go to that school."

"I think it's all stupid," I said. "I think Luke has a point – it's not the school's fault. He should chase after his dreams, get the education he wants because he can."

"Of course you'd say that," Travis grumbled.

"What do you mean?"

"You're a newbie, too. And you two were friends. So of course you'd take his side, defend him. This place doesn't mean to you what it means to us."

Everyone else must have agreed. They all slowly got up and drifted away. Thalia hovered for a second but backed away after hesitating. After all, she, too, had practically grown up at this place.

I felt lost. I understood everyone's feelings, but I thought it was fair for Luke to both go to the school he wanted to go to and help save the club. He could have both, surely.

But I didn't say that. Partially because no one would want to hear that. And partially because I was alone – everyone had already turned away from me before I even said anything.

…

Luke's POV

Yesterday night did not go well. I didn't get the reaction I was expecting. I knew my friends would be upset, but I didn't think they'd explode on me like that. I especially wasn't expecting Percy's retorts. Shame washed over me as I remembered the awful things I'd said to Percy. I wasn't sure where my verbal assault came from, whu I targeted the touchy subject of hi dad, but I guess I was just so mad that I picked out something vulnerable to prey on.

Today, representatives from Kronos were coming to Goode. I planned on going to the meeting and trying to talk to them about the issue privately.

…

"So, we hope you consider coming to Kronos! And go Goode!"

Kelli, a representative from Kronos, smiled at us. She added that last part with a toss of her arms into the air, like she was cheering with pom-poms in her hands (apparently, she'd been a cheerleader for Goode.)

As the other students flooded out, I made my way over to where Kelli was standing with her partner, Ethan.

"Uh, excuse me?"

"Oh, hi! Yeah, what's up?" Kelli definitely had that ebullience only a cheerleader had.

"Um, I wanted to ask about something and… uh, didn't get a chance during the questions."

Only because I hadn't raised my hand – I definitely would've gotten a chance because very few people had questions.

"Well, what would you like to know?"

Ethan closed the laptop he had used to give his presentation. He turned his full attention ot me.

"I… what can you tell me about the issue with Olympus Co.?"

They exchanged a look.

"See, Olympus Co. funds this… I think it's a club-thing. They invest lots of money in it. Basically, they spend so much money on this place that their budget is cut low. They're doing a poor job with their clients – they don't have enough money to make the repairs at our school." Ethan fiddled with his name tag.

Kelli shot me a winning smile. "But don't worry! We're getting another company to fix the issues – and we're using the money that Olympus is going to pay us to make that happen."

Ethan recovered. "Yeah. We're a great school. We have great programs and a variety of courses. We'll help you succeed! So come to Kronos, it's the best choice for your future! And since repairs won't cost much of what we're asking for, we'll have extra money to improve!"

"You can be part of that! Together, on the right team, we can all come together and change the world! All you have to do is come to Kronos and join the greatest minds of this generation!"

Their statement was a little intense but convincing. So I accepted the complimentary pen and in my head accepted their offer to go to Kronos.

…

Percy's POV

"Annabeth, you're smart, what do you think?"

Thalia rested her chin on her hand and stared across the cafeteria table at Annabeth.

Thalia, Annabeth and I were sitting together during lunch, trying to come up with a plan to save the club. So far, we had nothing.

Annabeth and I were still on sinking ground. Our friendship was shaky, but we made a tacit agreement to come together and focus on the big problem, then we would deal with the little things.

"I don't know. I really don't see what we can do."

"Well," I said, "First things first. We need to help the club as much as we can right now, raise money to keep it going until we can actually fix the problem. We need to stall a little bit so we have time to come up with a good plan."

Annabeth nodded. "We need fundraisers. We can probably do some here at school. We can… sell stuff, like have a bake sale."

"Candy sales."

"Old school lemonade stand."

"We can do outside of school, too – babysitting, dog-walking."

"Car wash."

Annabeth jotted the suggestions down in her notebook. "Okay, this is good."

"How much will that make, though?"

"Probably not enough," I sighed. "And we need something faster, a more immediate source of money."

"How about this?"

We all looked up. Rachel Elizabeth Dare was standing by our table, in her usual protest-rally-event T-shirt and paint-splattered jeans. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail. In her hand was s lip of paper.

"Percy, remember I told you about Clarion?"

Clarion Academy was some prestigious finishing school for girls learning to be socialites. Rachel's mom went there and she wanted Rachel to go, too, even though that was completely not her thing.

"Yeah?"

"Well, I told my dad about the problem with the club-"

"You told her?" Annabeth hissed through gritted teeth.

"-and –well, he's a businessman, he's really into deal-making – we made a deal. If I want to Clarion, he'd… he'd donate money to the club. He'd pay off whatever needs to get paid right away."

She placed the paper on the table and slid it over. It was a check for-

Thalia whistled lowly. "20 grand…"

My eyebrows shot up. "Rachel… I-we-"

"Don't sweat it. He has plenty." She said it a little sourly, since she disapproved of how her father made so much money.

"Thanks, Rachel… you totally saved us!"

She smiled. "Just trying to help. Well, I gotta go – chem teacher wants to discuss my grade or something." She left.

"Holy lightning bolts!" Thalia stood so abruptly, she almost knocked her chair over. "I totally forgot – I have to finish a math test! See ya guys!"

Annabeth huffed. "And once again, Rachel steps into a matter that doesn't concern her."

I frowned. "She's just trying to help."

"You told her."

I threw my hands up. "Oh my gods, what is your problem? I told one person – get over it!"

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Percy."

"No, it's not whatever. This club means the world to me and I can't lose it. I'm here trying to save it, and you're just grumbling over the fact that someone's trying to help!"

"She isn't supposed to know about this issue in the first place!"

"And yet she's doing more than those who should know about the issue!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded and gestured to her notebook. "If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to save it, too!"

"How? By being friends with the guy who's supporting the people who made this mess?"

"Don't turn this around on Luke! He has a point!"

"So now you're supporting Kronos, too?!"

"I'm not supporting anyone, just listing the facts!"

"Facts – yeah, you're probably going to go to that smart people school, too, huh? Of course. The club isn't your home away from home."

"Ugh! You're impossible – why do I even bother?" Annabeth collected her things and marched out of the lunch room.

I ruffled my hair. Yup. We're totally patching things up.

So much for putting our differences aside to make progress.

**A/N: So, what'd you think? Sorry for any mistakes – I was too lazy to fully edit so I quickly skimmed the chapter to correct anything spell check caught If you see any end quotes " where punctuation is missing before it, it was probably supposed to be a – for a cut-off sentence. **

**R&R!**

**- Promise**


	29. Untangling Knots

**Chapter 29: Untangling Knots**

**A/N: AAAAHHHHH! This is it! Last actual chapter! Then it's an epilogue and… that's it. The story's over :,( Bittersweet. So, this chapter is basically to clear everything up – EVERYTHING. So a longer chapter. You can guess by the title. I know the Kronos conflict didn't develop very far but that wasn't the highlight of the story – the real story, as you know, has been dragging for a while. So here is what you've all really been waiting for. **

**THIS is the chapter that makes this story Percabeth. The epilogue has some more Percabeth, sort of, but mostly it's to tie the whole story together. I'm doing something I think really works and shows you how their relationship strengthens. See, what I'm doing is-**

**Whoops! Almost spilled the beans!**

**Hee-hee. Had enough of me? I'm sure. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.**

**Hope you enjoy!**

Percy's POV

_-and the electric company is furious. "It's unjust and outright despicable," says Mr. Jupiter, CEO of the company. "It's fraud. He had our services installed, faked the issues, and sued us for it. Somebody arrest this man." Police have looked into the matter, but there is no substantial evidence to back the story – more investigations are being carried out. First trial is hesitantly scheduled for next spring. _

I blinked. I looked up from my third time reading the article. I still was in a bit of shock.

I was looking up Kronos's history, just to learn more about this school and its reputation. I came across this article from a few years ago, when the school was smaller and less popular. Only in recent years did it become prestigious, and reading this article, which I hadn't heard about because it was when Kronos was just another school, I have a sneaking suspicion that it became a big school because of the fraud – used it not to gain attention but to get the funds to expand.

And I was starting to think they were trying to do it again.

I had to talk to my dad.

…

"Yes, I'd like to meet with Poseidon, please?"

"Well, he has a very busy schedule and meetings are reserved for the urgent matters… May I ask who is calling?"

"Percy. Percy Jackson. I'm… I'm his son."

"Oh! Oh, yes, Percy! Uh…" I could hear her frantically rearranging everything on her desk, as if I was actually there and I was her boss who caught her doing something not related to work. Funny how she wasn't going to give me an appointment and then I just said my name.

"He is free… today at noon. Well, it's during his lunch, and anyone else I don't think he'd allow… But I'm sure he'd be happy to see you."

Yeah, right. If that were true, he'd try everything possible to spend time with me, including doing lunch with me. But all I ever got was an 'I'm busy today'. If he cared, he'd make a better effort, squeeze me in anywhere he could.

But that wasn't this lady's fault so I didn't say that and thanked her politely.

At 11:30 I hailed a cab to my dad's office. When I arrived, I ran into Amphitrite at the copier.

"Good morning," I said. I didn't like her but that didn't mean I should be rude.

She sniffed. "He's in there." She swatted me away.

Apparently, she didn't share the same thought process.

I knocked on the wooden door.

"Come in."

I pushed it open and stepped into the spacious room. I remembered one time, when I was maybe five, that I came here. My favorite part of the room was the fish tank he kept. I had recently lost my little gold fish and was still upset. When I was helping my mom clean his tank, I tilted the cup my fish was in too far and he fell out. I cried for two weeks and refused to get another fish because I wanted that one. When my dad heard about the situation, he promised me he'd get me a new fish, despite my protests. He promised he'd keep it safe in his office tank. Every birthday he promised a new fish, to put in his aquarium, labeled "Percy's Aquarium". We'd kept up that little tradition even until now. But this was the first time I was seeing the tank since I was about seven. This was the first time I realized he hadn't kept his promise.

There were plenty of fish, none of which I had ever asked for over the years. The last fish I had asked for was a Chinese fighting fish. He was nowhere to be found. I knew he wouldn't be in the tank, but I didn't see the separate bowl he should be in. I did, however, see a seahorse and a starfish. I'd never asked for those. I looked up. The label now read "Percy's and Triton's Aqualand".

_Aqualand?_

I wrapped my arms around my ribcage self-consciously. Of course. Those were Triton's fish.

My dad cleared his throat. He had come over to give me a hug, which I refused by reaching for his hand and giving it a firm shake. He stepped back awkwardly and studied me.

"He hasn't come yet."

And he never would, because my dad never ordered my fish.

"Amphitrite wanted to include Triton. I think it's great."

"I think she wanted to take me out of the picture altogether but it appears you protested _so_ relentlessly to keep my name up there," I said flatly, "Gee, thanks, Dad. You're my hero. You really do love me."

He looked a little hurt. "I _do_."

"Uh-huh. So I guess all _my_ fish died, then?"

He stayed silent, fidgeting with his shirt.

I didn't mean to make him feel bad, but the fish tank had been special to me. It was the only connection we had and now it was broken. He should've stood up for me, defended me – this was my special tank. Triton could've gotten his own. But no.

"You're lucky I'm still here. I can't believe I'm still doing this but I am."

I handed him the article. He took it and scanned the heading. His eyes flicked to me uncertainly before reading the article.

"Oh my… When was this?"

"Uh, a few years ago. Do you… do you think…"

I didn't even have to say it. A tacit understanding passed between us.

"What are you going to do?"

He exhaled. "It's not so simple. First, I need to get the investigations from this case." He tapped the piece of paper. "Then, assuming that this is all true, I will have to investigate further on our case and compare stories. We need to see if the school is trying to pull the same stunt on us or not. Then we'll go from there. Let's start with that."

I nodded. We stood. I held my hand out for a shake, but this time, he was the one to decline. H came around the desk and wrapped his arms around me in an embrace. I stood stiffly for a moment before giving his back a few cold pats and leaving the room.

…

"Percy?"

"Yeah?"

My mom peeked into the room. She handed me the phone.

"Phone's for you."

I took it from her and cleared my throat.

"Hello?"

"Percy, turn on the news."

"Dad? Why-"

"Turn on the news."

I switched to the local news station and was rather surprised by what I saw.

"Investigators confirmed with the use of security videos that all the plumbing, electric, and air conditioning failures occurring at Kronos University were provoked. One video shows the principal of the school himself tinkering with the systems, though most of the work was performed by a hired man by the undercover name 'Typhon', whose identity is still undetermined. Principal Kronos refuses to make a statement, but we will see him in trial next week. The school will remain intact and keep running, accepting all its new students for the next semester, but a new principal will be put in place. The utilities company that was about to be sued, lose its money, reputation, and the club it funded, and would ultimately be shut down, will now remain and even expand with the funds they will gain. Mr. Zeus also wanted it to be publically announced that Club Half-Blood will not be shut down and might even expand."

I almost dropped the phone.

"Percy? You still there?"

"Y-yeah. Oh my… I can't believe it."

"Thank you, Percy. If it weren't for you, the news story would be saying a different thing. Oh! That reminds me. Your uncles and I are coming out to the club tomorrow evening to celebrate. I hope you can make it."

"Yeah. Yeah, I'll be there."

"Great. Percy," his voice took on a softer tone, but it was firm with confidence, "I'm looking forward to seeing you. Please, please come. I want to talk to you, in person. Thank you for everything, son. I can't wait to see you."

I heard the line go dead after hearing the words I'd wanted to hear my whole life.

…

"Percy!"

Thalia ran over to me with Silena. They were both beaming at me. Silena was wearing a red party dress and her hair was curled over one shoulder; she looked as stunning as always. The more surprising thing was that Thalia was dressed up, too. She wasn't wearing a dress, but she wore a black ruffled mini skirt, and even though she'd paired it with a blue tank top and combat boots, it was enough to let me know that this party was more than a crackers-and-refreshments deal.

"Hey, ladies. What's up?"

"Percy!" Silena repeated with a toss of her glossy hair, "Isn't it great? The club is saved! And we're having this huge party and it's awesome! And my mother got me this dress from Paris!" She turned glamorously, flashing me a Miss-Universe-worthy smile.

"And more importantly," Thalia interrupted with a roll of her eyes, "It's for you!"

"What's for me?"

"The party! It's honoring you! Come on, come on, come on!"

Each girl took one of my arms and dragged me along.

The music was blasting louder than usual. Lots of people were wandering around, dancing, talking, eating, and just having a good time.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To the Big Three," Silena said, "They told us to bring you to them. They're having this whole awards ceremony and everything!"

"Awards ceremony? Isn't that a little much?"

Thalia shot me a look.

"This club means everything to us. You and I practically grew up here. Nothing it takes to keep this place going is 'a little much.'"

I kept silent as we walked. I heard loudspeakers go on, calling everyone to the meeting area.

My dad and his two brothers were standing in front of the groups of people. Thalia and Silena ushered me to a seat. Silena looked me over disdainfully.

"Really, Percy. Couldn't you have dressed up a little more? Even _Thalia's_ wearing a skirt."

"Sorry. I didn't realize it was that kind of occasion."

"Hmm." Silena looked me over again. "Hold still."

She reached into her purse and pulled out a tube of hair gel.

"Um, no."

"Fine." She pulled out a comb and ran it through my tangles.

"Ow!"

"Jeez! Would it kill you to brush your hair once in a while?"

She turned to someone next to her and when she turned back she held a button-down.

"Your brothers just carry spare clothes with them?"

"Of course. And lucky for you, you and Mitcell are the same size."

"Great."

I slid into the button-down for Silena, but I was going to take it off as soon as she left. Apparently, her brother carried a suit jacket, too.

"There." Silena nodded. "Now you look acceptable."

I was thinking of a sarcastic comment when someone's voice came through the microphone.

"Everyone, settle down." Chiron paused, waiting for silence. "Thank you. As you know, this club has existed for many years, free to its members. You also know it came very close to shutting down. But it remains, standing strong, thanks to a few very important people we'd like to honor tonight. I'm sure you all know who these three men are." He gestured to the Big Three. "The founders and financers of this establishment. They'd like to share a few words so I'll turn it over to Mr. Zeus."

Next to me, Thalia shifted. I knew she hadn't seen her dad in a while, and just seeing him, hearing him, was making her a little uneasy. Nico, next to her, also looked a bit unsettled. I felt the same way.

"Hello, everyone. Yes, we very nearly had to shut down. I don't know if you all heard the story, but what happened was fraud. Kronos University faked problems and attempted to sue us for them, much like they did some time ago with a different company. They were unable to pull off their little stunt again, and we owe that to on special person. My own nephew, Percy Jackson. I'm sure most of you know him."

I heard a clamor rise up from everyone. I felt my cheeks burn. Thalia and Silena nudged me forward.

"Percy, come here."

I stood and stalked over to my family. It was weird, seeing them all here, together, not trying to bite each other's heads off. I stood in front of them.

"Percy, we wanted to thank you for what you did. You uncovered the school's history and found out about the fraud they committed a few years ago. If you had not, we would not have thought they were trying to pull something over on us and would not have done so many investigations. Because of you, we can keep the club running."

Everyone burst into cheering and applause. People were standing and beaming. Grover gave me two thumbs up.

"So, Percy, we want to honor you tonight. We want to reward you in some special way, but we weren't quite sure how. So tell us, Percy – what would you like?"

"W-what do you mean?"

Dad smiled. "What do you want? We will give you anything you desire."

"As long as its reasonable," Uncle Hades grunted.

"Of course," nodded Uncle Zeus.

"Um… gee, I don't know."

"Think fast, boy, I have a plane to catch."

"I-well, I would really like… I just want everyone to be accepted."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, some people don't make it into the club because they don't pass the skills test. I think instead of having to pass it, it should just be used to determine what skills level you're at so you're placed in proper training. And maybe we can open the doors to minor gods of Greek mythology. Some people don't get into the club because their personality quiz results don't find the ideal parentage to match them with. I think the options should be expanded beyond just the twelve Olympians because people are so different."

"Percy," my dad said carefully, "that doesn't happen overnight. We'd have to shut down the whole system to reprogram and restarting may take a few days."

"You said anything reasonable. I think that's a lot more reasonable than asking for my own cruise ship."

"I'd much rather have the S.S. Percy custom made than shut down and restart," Uncle Zeus grumbled, "but very well. We shall have it done. So everyone enjoy gaming tonight – tomorrow we'll reprogram and though you can still come to the club, you won't be able to train for a bout a week."

"And now the final thing before we continue the celebration," my dad said, stepping forward, "Percy, we are going to hand this special plaque, honoring you, at the entrance. Thank you, son."

There was more applause as the plaque was held up for everyone to see. I could feel my cheeks reddening as I heard Thalia scream, "That's my baby cousin!"

When the applause died down, everyone was released to return to the main party area. But before I could leave, my dad rested his hand on my shoulder.

"Wait."

I waited. I heard Uncle Zeus calling Thalia and Nico over. My cousins exchanged a nervous look before coming over. Thalia tugged at the edge of her skirt. Nico fidgeted with the thin silvery tie he wore over a black button-down with silver pinstripes and black jeans.

"We want to apologize to the three of you," Uncle Zeus started, "for not spending time with you and seeming like we don't care. We do care about you – you're out children."

The three of us just stared back. It was this moment we'd waited for, but I knew we'd all pictured differently, at different points in our lives, and certainly not like this.

"Um…"

"Let us finish." Uncle Hades stepped for. Though his words were directed at the three of us, he was looking at Nico.

"To make it up to you three as best we can, we are taking you on vacation. The dates are still undetermined, but we're flying out, all six of us, to Greece. We'll spend some time there, take a cruise through Europe, and fly back. What do you say?"

Thalia's mouth was hanging open. "Do you even need to ask? I'm in!"

Nico and I looked at each other. "Sounds good," we said in unison.

We broke up our little circle. My dad pulled me aside.

"Percy." I waited but he didn't say anything.

"Y-yes?"

"I just…" He took a deep breath. "I wanted to say I'm sorry. For everything. For neglecting you, ignoring you, not being there for you… Forgive me, son. You were born right around the time our company hit its peak and I focused more on my business."

"It's okay, Dad, really. I forgive you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm glad. This trip is going to be great – just you and me."

"And Thalia and Nico and Uncle Ze-"

"You know what I mean."

I smiled. He stepped forward and pulled me into a hug.

I'd never much hugged him before so it was a foreign feeling, but it was a good one. I relaxed against him and just let the tension, anger, and resentment that had built up over the years melt away.

Dad pulled away first, smiling. "Go, now. Have fun with your friends. Thank you for your help."

"Bye, Dad."

"I'll see you soon, son."

For the first time, I really did feel like his son.

…

"Percy."

I felt thin fingers wrap around my wrist.

"Hi, Rachel."

"Do you have a minute?"

"Uh, yeah."

She led me over to a setup of chairs around a table and sat down. I sat down across from her.

"I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?"

She laced her fingers together. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Percy, I'm sorry for leading you on."

_Huh?_

"I didn't mean to give you the wrong impression – I'm sorry if you thought I was… interested in you. You know, _that_ way."

"What-"

"I guess I came off that way because I thought I was into you that way, but I've been really thinking."

"Rachel-"

"Let me finish."

Her eyes were still closed, making it all the creepier, but thankfully, a little less awkward. Personally, I'd rather it be that way.

"I thought I had romantic feelings for you but I realized my feelings weren't as deep as I thought. Really, I see you as just a friend. I'm sorry if you thought otherwise."

"Um… No, no. No worries, Rachel, really. It's okay. It's all good."

"Good. I'm glad we're friends. And… I'm sorry about… you know, the Annabeth issue because of me."

I felt my cheeks grow hot.

"Don't worry – I'll talk to her about it. Then you can swoop in for the kill."

She grinned at me mischievously. I was caught between being a little embarrassed by her implication and being dumbfounded by her strange choice of words.

"Well, I'm glad we figured this all out."

Rachel stood and I stood with her. We hugged and there was nothing awkward or weird about it.

She started to leave before turning back.

"Oh! That reminds me! I talked to Chiron about how I still wanted to be part of the club, you know, not just a member but an actual part of it. He said I could try the demigod test again, or, I could test to be something else. So I took the test to be the Oracle – you know, the Oracle of Delphi? – and I passed!"

I was confused at first – my dad owned this place and I'd never heard of that particular position – but then I registered what that meant.

"Rachel! That's great!"

I threw my arms around her excitedly.

"I know! Well, I'm off to fix a few other misunderstandings. See ya."

She walked away in her white paint-splattered dress with the denim jacket thrown over it and scuffed up gray Converse on her feet. Despite the strange attire, she was beautiful.

I continued to wade through the crowds of people. I knew Rachel wanted to talk with her first, but since this whole issue was sorted out, I was eager to find her myself and fix this whole mess up.

I thought I saw a glimpse of Annabeth's gold hair but before I could see if it was her, someone else put a hand on my shoulder.

"Perseus."

"Hey, Chiron."

"Congratulations."

"Thank you."

"I appreciate your selflessness in naming your reward. I've been trying to convince those three of those same new rules, but they never took my suggestions."

"Glad I could help. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to talk to someone."

I continued through the crowd, but I kept getting stopped by people. By the time I did see the shiny blond curls again and confirmed it was Annabeth, it was too late. The party was over, the place was closing for the night, and she was walking out the door with…

Luke?

…

Annabeth's POV

The celebration party was a lot of fun, except for the fact that Silena made me wear a blue strapless dress and heels (and Thalia only had to wear a skirt). I got to hang out with my friends and the club was saved.

I was nervous about going, because if I ran into Percy, I wasn't sure what I'd say. When he arrived, even though Chiron had sent me to get him for the ceremony, I panicked just a little bit and made Thalia and Silena hunt him down. There were still fifteen minutes until the ceremony, so I just stood around alone, sipping punch, when I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Annabeth?"

I turned around and saw someone I wasn't particularly excited to see.

"Hey, Rachel."

"I need to talk to you."

"Um… O-okay?"

She led me over to a table that had been set up and we sat.

"What's up?"

"Look, Annabeth. I'm really sorry for causing so much trouble. I know you like Percy-"

I flushed pink. "Hold on, there."

"-and I'm so sorry for ruining your chances. But I want you to know that I don't have feelings for him, that I'm going to talk to him, and then you can have him. No hard feelings?"

"Whoa, whoa, wait." I held my hands up – this was a lot to process. "If you don't like him, why did you act like you did?"

"Because I thought I did. But I thought long and hard and realized I don't like him. I'm going to tell him today."

I could feel a weight being lifted off my shoulders. That was a relief. Now, there'd be no problems… Unless, of course, he does like Rachel…

As if she could hear my thoughts, Rachel said, "Believe me, he definitely likes you."

"How do you know?"

"Just a feeling."

"Wait- you're talking him today?"

"Yeah, and he'll probably want to talk to you, after. But if you don't think you're ready to talk t him, I can just tell him that I haven't spoken to you yet and that I'd like to before he does."

I sighed in relief. "Thanks, Rachel."

"Sure thing. Oh, I think the ceremony's gonna start soon. Come on." She stood and bowed playfully.

"Shall we?" She held out her elbow to me. I smiled. I really liked Rachel. The only reason I'd pretended otherwise was because of the Percy thing, but now that that was over…

I curtsied. "We shall."

I took her arm and we laughed.

"So, we're all good?"

I beamed at her. "We're all good."

…

After the awards, I had to keep my eye out for Percy. I really wasn't ready to talk to him yet, and I had someone of my own to sort things out with.

He found me before I found him.

"Annabeth," he was straight to the point, "we need to talk."

A lot of people have needed to talk to me today.

"Yes, Luke?" I turned to face him.

"I'm done."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't like this tension between us. I'm done with us avoiding each other. We're going to talk it out now and I'll go first. I'm sorry for forgetting about you. I'm sorry for acting like a jerk. And I'm sorry for getting worked up with Percy. I was just jealous because you're my best friend and I didn't want to lose you. Also… I'm sorry if you have feelings for me because… I don't have feelings for you."

There. He said it. Like ripping off a Band-Aid.

"My turn. I'm sorry for overreacting about you making new friends – I was jealous, too, that I'd lose my best friend. I'm sorry for giving you the cold shoulder and acting like you were a horrible human being. And it's okay if you don't have feelings for me because I don't have feelings for you. Maybe I did at one point but not anymore. We're friends, more like brother and sister really, and I do love you – as such."

He exhaled and smiled. "Well, great. I'm glad we've figured everything out. Oh! There's one more thing. I've decided that, despite everything, I am definitely going to Kronos. I know the others won't be too thrilled but this is what I want to do with my future. Plus, there's a new principal."

I hugged him. "I'm happy for you. Really."

"I actually am leaving tomorrow. School doesn't start yet but I have family near the university and I'm going to live with them while I go check out the school a little more. Will you come say good-bye one last time?"

"Absolutely."

"Great." We were silent as a song ended. When the next one started, I instantly recognized it – it'd been 'our song' since we were little kids. Luke held his hand out to me.

"May I have this dance? For old times' sake?"

"With pleasure… But just for old times' sake."

He stuck his tongue out at me and I laughed as he led me out to the dance floor.  
>…<p>

"Annabeth! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

I was just leaving from the party with Luke, who was going to drive me home, when someone called out.

I panicked for a little bit – could that be Percy? – But that was definitely not his voice. I turned. It was Malcolm's.

"Hey, Malcolm. What is it?"

He glanced at Luke uncertainly.

He smiled slightly. He must've sensed it was something personal because he said he'd meet me at the car. I turned to Malcolm.

"Mom called."

We fell silent. Even though we were growing used to having the same mom, we were not used to the idea of having a mother who had left us.

"What did she want?"

"She said she wanted to get in touch with us, stay in touch with us. She said she wants to meet up."

"I thought she was going to leave us alone."

"I guess she changed her mind."  
>"Where? When?"<p>

Malcolm took out his phone. He had a good memory, but when he was nervous, he blanked sometimes.

"She texted me the details – I'm not entirely sure how she got my number, I think Dad gave it to her – and it's… Tomorrow. At noon."

"Hmm."

"Are you going? I'm not going if you're not going."

"I… I agreed to see Luke tomorrow but that was in the morning. Tell her sure. I think we should go and hear her out at least. We can have breakfast together before we see her, just to be sure we want to do this, and we can have lunch with her."

"Sounds good."

"Okay, see you tomorrow. I'll text you."

"Okay."

I gave him a hug before walking to Luke's car. I gave him a brief summary of the situation with my mother and I was grateful that he didn't press for any more attention.

…

"Dad! I'm leaving!"

"Okay! Have fun!"

Oh, I don't know about that…

I stepped outside and hailed a cab. I felt a little anxious at the thought of not seeing Luke around anymore, but I was excited for him.

When I arrived at his house, he was already packing bags into his car. His mom was watching from a short distance, dabbing at her eyes every now and then.

"Annabeth!" She called. "Hello, dear!"

"Hi, Mrs. Castellan. Hey, Luke."

"Hey, Annabeth."

"So…" I felt my stomach do a somersault. "Today's the big day, huh?"

"Yup. Some other friends from school who are going to Kronos are coming over – a little road trip."

I nodded. "That's… fun."

He closed the trunk of his car and turned to me.

"Soon, it'll be your turn. And I'll be the one seeing you off, feeling like I'm gonna die because my little sister is all grown up."

I punched his arm.

"Ow."

I smiled. He pulled me into a hug.

"Call me when you get there."

"I will. I'll keep in touch – don't worry, I won't forget."

"You better not or I'm driving to Kronos and personally taking care of the problem."

He chuckled.

I heard a car pull up. Two kids, a boy and girl, stepped out of the cab. My heart dropped.

They noticed me and understood to wait by where the taxi had been. Mrs. Castellan went over to talk to them.

"I guess this is it," I say to Luke.

"Guess so."

I embraced him and clung to him, taking in his scent and memorizing it.

I felt him kiss the top of my head. "Bye, Annie," he whispered, "I'll miss you. I'll call you. Stay safe. Take care."

"Ditto."

He pulled away. We smiled at each other. I watched as he and his friends got in the car – they must've loaded the car with their stuff while we were saying good-bye.

I watched Luke pull out of the parking lot of his apartment. He waved to me one last time before rounding the corner and turning onto the street to his future.

…

"Ready?"

I squeezed Malcolm's hand.

"Ready."

We walked into the diner we'd had breakfast this morning. I instantly saw our mother in one of the booths, already looking over the menu of lunch options.

Malcolm and I walked over.

"Hi, M-" I started, but I wasn't comfortable finishing the word. "Um, hi."

She looked up. "Hello, Annabeth, Malcolm. Have a seat."

We sat down across from her.

"Kids, I know you probably don't really want to be here, but I realized that, after so much time away from both of you, I really do want to make this work."

Next to me, Malcolm exhaled. "It's kind of hard to tust you won't leave again."

"I know. But just… give me a chance. I know you have no reason to trust me but… Well, I had to try."

Malcolm looked at me. I could tell we were thinking the same thing. We already were broken by what she'd done. We'd already lived our childhood without a mother. What would we have to lose? Not much. We might as well give her a chance – the worst that could happen was continuing our lives as they were.

"We'll give you a chance," I said, "But only one. Please use it wisely."

"Thank you, both of you. This means a lot to me."

We spent the rest of lunch talking and getting to know each other, making plans for over the weekend. By the time we left, I was able to call her the 'M' word without hesitation.

…

Later that day, I went down to the park. My friends an I were going to hang out there for a while before going to a movie and grabbing some burgers for dinner. I had come early because I wanted some time to myself.

As I wandered around, I came across the place I had first come to when I first came to New York. It felt like it'd been so long ago. I was approaching the picnic table set up there when I noticed a figure. The young man sitting at the table had dark, messy hair. As I got nearer, I could see his features better and saw that it was Percy. He was staring out in front of him, towards the Hudson River, not realizing I was there. I came closer after hesitating for a moment.

"Hey."

He looked up. He smiled. "Hey, Annabeth."

I sat down next to him. "What are you doing here so early and alone?"

"I'd ask you the same."

I shrugged. "I just wanted a minute to myself before everyone else got here."

"Same."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a moment before Percy took a deep breath and ventured into territory we'd been avoiding.

"While you're here, and we have some time to ourselves, I wanted to talk to you."

I swallowed nervously. "Rachel explained everything to me."

He nodded. The situation was getting a little awkward.

"Annabeth. I just wanted to tell you that you're the greatest friend I've ever had and you never have to worry about someone taking that place from you."

I didn't respond, thinking about what'd he'd said.

"You don't have to worry about anyone taking your place, either, Perce," I said softly. "You have a special place that no one will take, ever."

"Thanks. Um, Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

I heard the nervousness in his voice, saw the blush painted on his cheeks out of the corner of my eyes.

"I wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Well, I mean, you hold a special place for me, too, but, um, m-maybe you can hold a bigger place…. Like, not that it's a small place now, but, I mean, you mean a lot to me everything, and I was just thinking maybe you could… you could be…"

I felt butterflies in my stomach. I thought I knew where this was going, so I took a chance.

"Uh-huh? And what place would be more special to you, closer to you, than best friend, hmm?"

I couldn't resist the urge to smile.

He noticed.

"You're totally making fun of me."

"No, I'm not!"

He huffed.

"You are making this so much harder than it needs to be!"

I laughed. I turned to him and took another risk by letting my arms slip around his neck. I definitely knew where this was going.

"And I'm enjoying every second of it," I said with a grin before pulling my last daring stunt and leaning in to kiss him.

He didn't resist. He responded almost immediately, after the initial shock wore off. I felt him hug close o him. His lips were soft and sweet, a little salty, but in a good combination. I was feeling a little fuzzy-headed and his ocean-breeze scent was not helping.

"-and I was jus like 'No, way! And she was like, 'Yeah, way!' 'Cause he totally- oh my gods!"

Percy and I jumped away from each other when he heard out friends, namely Silena, cry out in astonishment.

"Um… uh…" We fumbled for words.

"OMG! Aaahhh! I knew it! I knew i! Aaah! You guys are so cute together!" Silena squealed, jumping up and down, clapping her hands together."

Percy and I were blushing bright red, but even though we'd pulled away, we held hands.

Suddenly, the Stolls got a mischievous look in their eyes.

"Connor," Travis said, "What did they say the weather'd be? 'Cause, man, it's getting hot!"

"That's not the weather, bro, that's those two! Looks like the love birds need to cool off!"

Before I really even knew what was going on, the Stolls had opened the cooler they'd been dragging behind them, opened a water bottle each, and dumped on Percy and I.

"That's wasting water!" Percy sputtered.

Everyone was laughing, even Percy and I. During the laughing fit, Percy didn't let go of my hand. He gave it a quick, reassuring squeeze.

This whole 'officially in a relationship' thing was going to going to be a little bit awkward at first, but I also knew that now that all our problems had gotten sorted out, we could focus on our relationship to move past that awkwardness.

…

In a few weeks, we'd gotten used to being in a relationship. I formally had dinner with his parents as his official girlfriend and he formally met my parents.

We spent a lot of time together, but not so much that we were obsessive. It was a strange feeling, being able to hug him and kiss him, and just knowing that I was older and had real feelings for a boy who returned them. We were still young, but it was a feeling I could definitely get used to if we stayed together.

As of right now, that was the plan. I wasn't a not-so-hopeless hopeless romantic like Silena, but being with Percy made me feel like I wanted to be with him forever. I imagined us getting moving in together, getting married, maybe having kids. I ran the name 'Annabeth Jackson' through my head over and over again. It might've been a little overdramatic, but he made me feel that way.

Tonight, we were taking a walk along on the beach. We'd spent the whole day together and decided to collect seashells as the sun went down. We stopped at the water's edge, letting the waves lap at our feet, and Percy pulled me to him. Right as the sun kissed the horizon, Percy kissed me.

Once again, I got that rush, and I almost said what I'd wanted to say all day and for a while now. But it seemed a little too soon – not for me to feel this way but to admit it to him. He might feel the same. So I decided to leave it for a more appropriate time.

Percy, apparently, must have thought was an appropriate time, though, because it was his turn to be risky.

"I love you," he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine and brushing his nose against my own nose as the sun disappeared and the sky darkened then lit up with stars.

I smiled as I felt tears brimming at my eyes. For the first time since I'd thought about saying those words, I didn't hesitate and let the phrase slip my lips in a whisper of my own.

**A/N: Whoo! Oh, boy! That was a doozy! My fingers are cramping and my wrists hurt. But there you go!**

**Too much at the end there?**

**Sorry, I wanted to make up for the lack of fluff throughout the story. But in my defense, in PJO, they don't get together until the end and there's only a few pages of romance so… I'm secure. **

**I am going to change the genres, though, because it's not so much a romance story as a drama story. So the genres of this story will be Drama and Humor. **

**But it's staying a Percy J. and Annabeth C. story. **

**Told you it's a Percabeth story ;)**

**So… Sorry it took so long but I think you can see why that was. **

**Okay, so, to prepare for next chapter I think you should refresh your memory and reread Chapter 3, the scene where Annabeth is having the flashback about the fight her parents had before divorcing. Not gonna say how, but it'll tie into the epilogue so… go brush up on that. **

**Oh, and every time I opened this chapter to work on it I started from the beginning and as I wrote the last part I got too lazy to read through. I've gotten tired of reading this chapter so even though I should read it through to make sure there are no continuity errors I'm too lazy and done with this chapter so I'm going to take the easy way out and just skim it for red squiggly lines. If spellcheck or I miss an error, I apologize but… Well, did you want the chapter today or not?**

**Alright, don't forget to drop a review!**

**R&R!**

**- Promise **


	30. Epilogue

**Chapter 30: Epilogue **

**A/N: Aww, this is the end! I'm so conflicted – sad that it's over, kind of relieved because it was hard work, also proud of this story. **

**Before we begin, I'd just like to give a few special thanks to those who have been so supportive of this story. You can tell they've reviewed the most because I am saying their names off the top of my head: **

**Erinwritesfanfics**

**Livelaughlove**

**ElmoDaHorse**

**You three have reviewed so many times and with such positive feedback! Thank you so much for sticking to this story! **

**So, this one is dedicated to you guys. Thank you so much. **

**Okay, everyone read chapter 3, right? If not, go do that now. You can skip to Annabeth's flashback scene. **

**Done? Cool. Welcome back. **

**Okay. Deep breath. Here we go. The conclusion to Untangling Knots…. Eeek!**

**Last disclaimer of the story (tear): I STILL, 30 chapters later, do not own PJO. Nor will I ever. **

**I hope you guys enjoy this wrap-up to the story. **

**Deep breath. Procrastinating because my stomach is starting to drop. **

**Okay. Sorry. Here we go. **

**Hope you enjoy! (sniff-sniff)**

(Third-person narration)

"I'm home!"

The woman stepped into her house. She immediately stepped out of her heels and slid off her business suit jacket. She tugged on the elastic that held her hair in a bun and let her honey-blonde curls frame her gray-eye clad face.

"In the kitchen," her husband replied.

She opened the door to the kitchen. He sat at the table with a mug of coffee and a stack of opened envelopes in front of him. He peered up at her as she set her purse downon the counter.

"You're late."

She sighed. "Percy, I told you I was working late tonight."

"Yeah, two hours late – it's, like, nine o'clock!"

"I'm sorry."

"You should've called to let me know. I had such a hard time getting her to bed because she was so anxious to see you before she fell asleep."

"You know how into my work I get sometimes – time slipped away and I forgot to call."

"You forgot your husband and your daughter, who were very worried."

"You know me. And I'm sorry."

He exhaled, frustrated and seething. "You don't forget your husband and daughter because of work."

The woman looked up. An icy feeling was setting in the pit of her stomach. This scene… It was so familiar, but she couldn't think why…

"What are you trying to say?"

"I'm saying I don't really believe you. This has happened way too often."

"Are you accusing me of something?"

"Infidelity."

Silence fell on them before the woman lost control.

"You're always thinking the wrong things! I can't believe, after everything we've been through, that you wouldn't trust me! It was work, I swear! I am not cheating on you!"

"Lower your voice. It was hard enough getting her to bed and I don't need her waking up. Besides, we're having a mature adult discussion."

"It's very mature of you to distrust me."

He narrowed his eyes.

"What's immature is you doing this in the first place."

"I'm not doing anything! You know what? I'm tired of this happening so consistently! If you can't trust me, this won't work!"

"What are you trying to say?"

"Divorce."

He pursed his lips. "That just might be fitting."

She waved her hand dismissively. "I'm tired. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

The man's face suddenly reddened with anger. "Why does everything have to be your way? Why am I always having to listen to you?"

"First of all, you don't have to do anything, you do what I tell you to do because you choose to! Second, I'm just looking out for you!"

"I'm not stupid, I can take care of myself!"

"Well, sorry for wanting to watch out for my best friend!"

"Some best friend you are, going behind my back!"

"I did not! And look who's talking - I thought nest friends trusted each other!"

"So did I!"

"Then maybe we're not best friends anymore."

The man rubbed his face with both hands. "No, no. Don't say that. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"No! You never do, but you say it anyway! I'm tired of it! I can't do this anymore, we're done!"

The woman turned to leave.

But before she could, warm, familiar fingers wrapped around her wrist.

"Annabeth, wait." He pulled her back. "Hear me out."

She turned, her arms crossed expectantly, foot tapping impatiently.

He exhaled, running a hand through his hair.

"Annabeth, I really am sorry. I know you're not cheating on me, I know that. I do. It's just… well…"

He paused. His eyes flicked to her, shining with self-consciousness, a look she hadn't seen in his eyes before. His eyes fell back to stare at the floor.

"Ever since we got together, I couldn't help thinking that… maybe this wouldn't work. It's just… we're so… different. And I knew it would be worth it to get together but I thought maybe you'd… tire of me. Find someone better for you – you could do so much better. And I just… get insecure sometimes. I can't help but think… maybe you've found him. Every time you come late I wonder if… if you'll come back."

Her heart ached as she noticed the tears collecting in his eyes. She'd never seen this side of him – he'd never let it show.

The anger washed away. She stepped forward.

"OH, Percy."

She pulled him close and felt wetness on her blouse as he buried his face against her neck. It was very brave of him to admit this to her. He really must've wanted to save this relationship to confess something like this.

"Percy, look at me." She took his face in her hands. "I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'll never find that man you're thinking of now – I've already found him. Percy, you're the greatest guy I have ever met. We are different, but I think that just makes us stronger – we balance each other out. And I really can't do much better than you because I don't think a better guy exists. I didn't realize you felt this way. Please, talk to me about these things. I want to help you and I need you to know that I married you for a reason. I married you because I love you."

He looked up. "I love you, too. I don't want to divorce."

"Me, neither."

They held each other for a moment, just taking in the moment.

"I just let my feelings get the best of me, but now that this is off my chest and we've worked this through and I feel better, we can move on."

"This'll just strengthen us, you know."

He took her hand in his. He laced their fingers together and brought their hands up. He placed a soft kiss on her wedding band, which matched his.

"With this ring, I vowed to be there for you, in the good and bad. I vowed to be your husband and more importantly your best friend until death do us part. I never intend to break that promise and I don't intend to ever come this close to doing that again."

"With this ring, I vowed to always love you. I still do and I always will."

"Let's renew our vows."

She laughed gently. "Isn't that we just did?"

"I guess. But maybe I just want another excuse to whisk you away on vacation, just us."

She laughed again. "I'm sorry, too, for exploding on you. Forgive me."

"If you forgive me."

"Absolutely."

"I forgive you, too."

"I guess I just let my own frustrations about this stressful project take over. And I guess the mood swings kicked in, too."

"Mood swings?"

She smiled. "That's right. I meant to tell you today. I took the test during work; I wasn't feeling well, but in a familiar way and had my suspicions. I thought it'd be more meaningful to tell you in person."

His eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

She brought their intertwined hands to her abdomen. "Percy, I'm pregnant."

His face broke out into a grin. He hugged her close. "That's fantastic!"

They embraced a moment longer.

"Percy, now I remember why this all seemed so familiar."

"Hmm?"

"This was almost exactly the fight my parents had before their divorce.

"Really?"

"Yeah. But we had a different outcome."

"I'm glad."

"Me, too. I guess their love just wasn't as strong as ours is."

"Mommy? Daddy?"

The couple turned towards the doorway. A young girl, around seven years old, wearing striped pajamas, was peeking into the kitchen. Her blonde curls were loose. Light eyebrows furrowed over worried, bright green eyes.

"Hi, sweetie," the woman greeted. "What are you doing up? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I couldn't sleep. I was waiting for you. Is-is everything okay? I heard yelling."

The man and woman exchanged a guilty look. The woman crouched down and opened her arms to the little girl.

"We were yelling and I'm sorry you had to hear that. But everything is okay, I promise. Mommy and Daddy had a disagreement but we fixed it. It's all better now."

The little girl smiled, relieved. She laughed as her mother lifted her and her parents smothered in her kisses.

"Well," the man said, wrapping an arm around the two loves of his life, "let's get you to bed, both of you. You both need some sleep."

"Especially you," said the woman to the little girl, "because Mommy and Daddy have a surprise for you in the morning."

"What I it?" The child asked excitedly, her eyes lighting up.

"Well, we can't tell you because it'll ruin the surprise, but I'll give you a hint. Remember how you said you wanted a little brother?"

**A/N: That's it. **

**I wanted to make up for the lack of Percabeth throughout the story and teasing you guys so much with some good ole' fluff. **

**How'd I do? Have I redeemed myself?**

**What'd you think? Did you see what I did?**

**My original plan was to take chapter 3 and just change around names to fit this situation, but I thought that'd be too much. So I just took the backbone of that plot, filled in some different dialogue but still keeping to the structure of the story, and then changing the ending. I think it's a nice little way of not only showing how strong there love is, but also sort of pointing out how even an ugly argument can get worked out, if there's willingness to do so. **

**I was going to name the little girl, but I couldn't find something fitting. **

**I also wasn't planning on making Annabeth pregnant, but, well, I think it worked out nicely. **

**So, this is it, dear readers. Thank you so much to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed. **

**Some news on future writing:**

**I have a one-shot written. I'm going to proofread and post, maybe soon, maybe this coming week. Who knows?**

**I worked out the problem I was having with my other story idea! Yay! I figured it out! The outline has been started and the prologue is being written! Whoo-hoo! I don't have a seak peek for you but… It's another AU. It might be called 'Like a Thief in the Night'. It might be called 'Of Islands and' if I can think of something to put after the 'and'. I would tell you more, but I don't want to say something that might change. Just know you can expect it in the summer, possibly before if I finish it. And it's awesome! Maybe in a future post, once I have most of the outline and the big plotline is solid, I'll post some details. **

**The Secret Santa 'Mistletoe Mishap: Deleted Scene' as I'm thinking of calling it will be out soon. I'm debating – should I wait to post in December? Hmm…**

**Anyway, that's all I have for now!**

**Thanks again, everyone! **

**I have time for one more: **

**R&R!**

**- Promise **


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